


If These Walls Could Talk

by distortedreality



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - High School, Bottom Derek, Bottom Stiles, Friends With Benefits, Human AU - no werewolves, M/M, POV Alternating, Sexting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 03:28:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 41,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11865714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/distortedreality/pseuds/distortedreality
Summary: “I’m worried about you. If you’re hung up on this guy all through high school then you won’t have room for anyone else. What do you think will happen when you both go off to college? Fuck, don’t answer that because I wouldn’t put it past you to go to the same one as him.”“You literally make me sound like a stalker.”“You’re only like 60% stalker.”“I’m not any percent stalker.”“Now that’s just a boldfaced lie, isn’t it, Der?”Derek pressed his face into Cora’s pink duvet and groaned loudly.A high school AU where everyone’s human and bad at communication. Stiles is an oblivious as hell lacrosse star, Derek is totally not pining and in no way working against his own self-interests (shut up, Cora), and everyone else is the captain of their ship (which doesn’t exist) (but it so does).





	If These Walls Could Talk

**Author's Note:**

> So I started writing this fic while procrastinating my uni work and it turned into the longest thing I've ever written by nearly double, so I hope you guys enjoy it.
> 
> As usual I'm my own beta, so apologies for any mistakes I missed whilst editing.
> 
> I also recently made a new [tumblr](https://selectedparagraphs.tumblr.com/) so if you feel like stopping by, come say hi. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Derek could barely remember a time when he didn’t notice Stiles. He noticed him when he was the dorky kid who would constantly distract the class in first grade with a never ending stream of chatter, and when he broke his arm jumping off a table in fourth grade in a misguided attempt to woo Lydia Martin, and especially when he started playing lacrosse halfway through middle school. Stiles had always been a constant in the corner of Derek’s mind, but when he picked up the lacrosse stick something clicked for Derek. All of a sudden Stiles was everywhere, invading all his thoughts and sending him into somewhat of a sexuality crisis for a considerable part of seventh grade. But as Stiles gradually dropped his baby fat and started putting product in his hair, and the regular lacrosse practices started shaping his body, he never lost the personality that had caught Derek’s attention in the first place. And despite Derek’s interest peaking when Stiles started getting fitter, that was what really drew Derek in and kept him around. Stiles was amazing out on the field. While his coordination when walking the school halls left much to be desired, on the field he moved like magic. It was truly something to see, so that’s what Derek did. He started turning up to every lacrosse game, and then the practices too. Neither his friends, nor his sister understood Derek’s interest, but, then again, neither did he. Stiles was just _Stiles_ , and it was captivating.

Stiles couldn’t pinpoint exactly when Derek started to pay attention to him. Sure, they shared a handful of classes throughout their school years, but Derek never really talked to him. It seemed like all of a sudden Derek was just _there_ , and he never quite went away. Not that Stiles minded. Once the shock of having – for lack of a better word – a fan club went away, Stiles grew to appreciate Derek’s input. Since they’d started high school and Stiles had made first line on the school’s lacrosse team, Derek had shown up to every single practice and game Stiles’ team played. At first Stiles just took Derek for a raging sports fan, though it soon became evident that Derek wasn’t necessarily there for the love of the sport – he was there for _Stiles_. And that Stiles still had a hard time wrapping his head around.

 

***

 

Derek threw his backpack onto the top row of the metal bleachers and flopped down beside it, pulling his hoodie tight around him. The weather was unseasonably cold, and Derek really didn’t feel like sitting out in the biting wind. It took only a few minutes for Cora to find him, clomping up the stairs in her boots to stand in front of him with her arms crossed.

“You shouldn’t be out here you know,” she declared. “You’re sick.”

“I’m fine,” Derek replied, turning his attention to the field. The lacrosse team was starting to organize themselves into groups for a practice match, and he didn’t want to miss anything.

“Come on, Der. You can miss a practice,” Cora tried again, tugging on his sleeve.

“I can’t, I missed the game last week,” Derek replied, eyes locking onto Stiles as he dodged around one of the new recruits. It wasn’t really fair to pit Stiles against them, Derek thought. He was always going to beat them.

Stiles dodged between the other players to take a shot at goal, but was taken down by one of his teammates. Derek clicked his pen and pulled out his notebook to jot down Stiles’ mistake. The player had come up on Stiles’ right, and he’d been too focused on the goal that he hadn’t been paying attention. It was a mistake that had come up a few times so far that season.

“I’m sure Stiles will forgive you for being sick,” Cora sighed. She flopped onto the bench next to him, resigning herself to another hour out in the wind. “You should just try out for the team yourself, you know; you’d probably be better than half the players out there.”

Derek snorted. He didn’t really even enjoy the lacrosse, per say. It was watching Stiles that he enjoyed. And yes, he knew that it was creepy, but at least he wasn’t some old guy who ditched his kids on a Friday night to ogle teenage boys at the local high school game. Besides, Stiles _liked_ his critiques; they had made him a better player. Even though he’d passed up the role of team captain offered to him at the end of the last season, Derek was sure he’d have mid-season MVP in the bag. Derek rested his chin on his palm and watched as Stiles assisted Scott McCall in scoring a goal.

“What’s the damage today?” Cora asked, paying more attention to picking at her nails than the lacrosse field.

“He’s slacking on his right side defense. Otherwise it’s been good dodges and good passes.”

“Uh huh,” Cora replied. She leaned back to take a photo of the field from behind Derek’s shoulder. “What should I caption this with?” she asked. “Do you prefer ‘lover boy’ or maybe ‘Derek loves balls’?”

“Shut up,” Derek cried, swiping at Cora and missing. He jabbed her in the ribs and she squealed, yielding the phone to her brother.

~

Stiles’ head shot up at the noise, his eyes locking onto Cora and Derek Hale sitting on the top row of the bleachers. He hadn’t even noticed they were there, but he was glad Derek was back. He didn’t think Derek had ever missed a game since he’d started getting invested in them, and worrying if he was ok or not had taken up way too big a portion of Stiles’ brain during the game. His teammates had given him endless shit about it when they’d figured it out, ignoring Stiles’ cries to mind their own business. The whole team was weirdly invested in the dynamic between Stiles and Derek.

Stiles met Derek’s eyes and he lifted his hand in a wave, smiling when Derek ducked his head in embarrassment. Stiles jumped when Scott clapped his hand down on his shoulder, pulling him towards the center of the field where the team was running through some light stretches.

“Who’s the guy?” Mason, one of the new players, asked Stiles. “He’s cute.” Before Stiles could open his mouth a snort sounded from Aiden.

“Don’t even bother trying. He’s Stiles’.”

“ _No,_ he’s not,” Stiles said, pushing himself up off the ground. “Go for it, if you’re interested. I’m not sure if he even dates, though. I haven’t seen him around with anybody.”

“He doesn’t date anybody whose lacrosse number isn’t 24,” Ethan called out.

Stiles ignored him, turning back to Mason. “Seriously, go ask him. His name’s Derek and he’s really nice.” He gave Mason an encouraging smile.

“Ok, maybe I will,” Mason smiled back. Stiles tuned out the teasing comments the team erupted in. It wasn’t like Derek was off limits.

~

Derek ignored Cora’s attempts at distraction for the rest of the practice, tuning her out and staring at Stiles hard enough that he probably looked like he was plotting his murder.

“Derek,” Cora said, poking him in the ribs.

“Fuck off, I’m ignoring you,” Derek replied childishly.

Cora sighed and grabbed his head, forcefully turning it towards one of the new players who was standing a couple of rows down the bleachers.

“Uh, hi,” the kid said, waving halfheartedly at Derek.

“Hey. Did you need something?” Derek asked, eyes flicking between the kid and the field. He was standing in the way, and Derek had to stretch his neck a little bit to see Stiles.

“I just noticed you’re here a lot and thought I’d, uh, say hi.” The kid fidgeted from foot to foot, clearly nervous.

“Oh god,” Cora groaned under her breath. After a few painful minutes of the kid introducing himself as Mason and asking Derek on a date before getting kindly let down, Derek and Cora were once again left to observe the practice in relative peace. Well, peace except for Cora’s incessant commentary.

“He was cute, Der,” Cora said, tapping her nails on the metal bench. “Why not say yes?”

“I’m not interested,” Derek replied, coolly.

“But _why_? Because he’s not _Stiles_?” After it became clear that Derek wasn’t going to answer, she continued. “Why not ask Stiles out then?”

“I’m not doing that,” Derek scoffed.

“I seriously don’t get you,” Cora mumbled.

Derek went back to ignoring her. There was nothing to get.

~

“Not interested,” Mason announced once he rejoined the team down on the field. Stiles gave him a condolence pat on the back.

“You should’ve told him it would be ok to call you ‘Stiles’ in bed,” Aiden said, leering up at the stands.

“Hey, that’s enough,” Scott declared, raising his eyebrows at his teammate. “I don’t want to hear any more comments about Derek.” Stiles took some extra hard shots at Aiden when he took his turn in goal later during practice.

As the sky started to darken practice wound down and Stiles pulled off his helmet, eager to jump in a warm shower and wash off the grime from practice. He jogged over the bleachers and took a swig from the water bottle in his bag, eventually just giving up and pouring some onto his face to wash away most of the sweat. He noticed that Derek and Cora were standing up to leave, so he rushed up to meet them.

“Hey guys,” he said with a smile which was directed mostly towards Derek. “We missed you at the game last week.”

“Yeah, I was sick,” Derek replied, swinging his backpack over his shoulder.

“Any tips today, Coach?” Stiles asked. Derek always smiled when Stiles called him that. The smile was a nice change from the usual look of pure concentration Derek usually wore. Stiles was pretty sure he was going to strain something one of these days.

“You were weak on your right today,” Derek declared. “All the successful intercepts came from that direction.”

“Thanks, man,” Stiles said. He held out his fist which Derek quickly pumped his own against. He turned to head back down towards the showers before stopping and turning back. “Hey, Derek,” he called up. “None of the guys are giving you shit, are they?”

“No more than their usual level of asshole,” Cora replied for him.

“Well, let me know if they do and I’ll have a word,” Stiles said. “Seriously, I don’t want them giving you any trouble.” He smiled at Derek once more before turning on his heel and trotting back down to the field to grab his bag. Once in the locker room he tapped Scott on the shoulder. “Were all my missed intercepts off my right side today?”

“Yeah,” Scott replied after thinking for a moment. “I think so. Is that what Derek said?”

“Yeah.”

“Well he’d know better than me,” Scott joked. “We should probably make him honorary co-captain, or at least an assistant coach. He’d probably do a better job than Finstock.”

“What, and lose our mascot?” one of the players called from the next row of lockers. The room erupted into laughter at Stiles’ immediate retaliation of “shut your face, asshole”.

“Does he really give you tips on how to improve?” Liam, one of the newer players, asked Stiles. His towel dried hair made him look like a freshly dried puppy. “Maybe I should ask him for some tips on my form. No offense, Scott.”

“He wouldn’t have anything to tell you,” Greenberg piped up from where he was lacing his sneakers up on the bench.

“But he’s here for every practice and every game, isn’t he?”

“What he means is that Derek’s not watching anybody but Stiles,” Danny said, poking his head from around the row of lockers.

“Once again, not true,” Stiles replied, though with a lot less mirth since it was Danny who had made the comment.

“Absolutely true,” Danny shot back with a grin, tossing his towel at Stiles’ face. “Haven’t you seen the way he blushes when you use the bottom of your shirt to wipe your face? You can literally see his face turn red from across the field.”

“You know full well he comes to practices and games just to watch you,” Isaac piped up.

Stiles waved them off.

“Doesn’t that bother you?” Liam asked Stiles. “It’s sort of creepy.”

“ _If_ he was turning up just to watch me – which he’s not – I would say that it’s not creepy, it’s cute. But it’s not like that, the guy’s just really into lacrosse.”

“And you,” Danny called out loudly, making Stiles giggle.

“Ok, maybe a little bit me.”

 

***

 

The entire drive home Derek had to deal with being heavily pestered by Cora about asking Stiles out.

“What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Uh, he could say no? Which would be fucking mortifying and I could never show my face near the field again.”

“So what you’re saying is that you would be in the same boat but with hours more free time on your hands?”

“Fuck off, Cora.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to help.”

His parents weren’t any better, but for a different reason. In her misguided attempts to ‘help’ Derek she would fill their parents in on every single sordid detail of Derek’s lack of love life. The difference between Cora and their parents was that they apparently hated Stiles without even having met him, solely based on the fact that Derek had a massive unrequited crush on the guy.

“He doesn’t seem like a very nice boy, Derek,” his mother warned, cutting into her chicken with more force than usual. “Don’t you think it’s time to move on?”

“Stiles is actually really nice. Super nice. The absolute nicest,” Derek replied through a mouthful of peas. “He always thanks me when I give him tips.”

“In his defense he yelled at a guy who made a comment about Derek during practice,” Cora pointed out. Every dinner followed the same pattern: Cora would bait and poke at Derek, airing out the details of his crush and dig them both into a hole. Their parents would then offer their biased opinion which would cause Cora to backtrack and attempt to dig them out of the metaphorical hole she had caused in the first place.

“You realize that even if I somehow did get sent to a parallel universe and come back with Stiles as my boyfriend, or hell, even just my friend, Mom and Dad would never let him over the fucking threshold because you’ve made them hate him. Like, I actually think I see fire in her eyes whenever you bring him up now,” Derek groaned later that night, flopping down on Cora’s bed.

“She’s just protective,” Cora rationalized. “You have to admit, if you didn’t know the guy personally he _does_ sound like kind of a dick.”

“That’s literally your fault.”

“Ok, maybe it is.” She stopped to rub Derek’s shoulder. “But I’m worried about you. If you’re hung up on this guy all through high school then you won’t have room for anyone else. What do you think will happen when you both go off to college? Fuck, don’t answer that, I wouldn’t put it past you to go to the same one as him.”

“You literally make me sound like a stalker.”

“You’re only like 60% stalker.”

“I’m not _any_ percent stalker.”

“Now that’s just a boldfaced lie, isn’t it, Der?”

Derek pressed his face into Cora’s pink duvet and groaned loudly.

“Hey, it’s Love Week coming up soon. You could ask him out then? Do it all anonymously to minimize backlash?” Cora suggested, still patting Derek’s back. It felt more frightening than comforting. Love Week was an event organized by the schools in Beacon Hills to promote tolerance and respect and all those other joyous things. People tended to get into it, since the school bankrolled the whole thing, and every year Derek had debated leaving a note in Stiles’ love box. One year he penned an awfully composed poem which Cora had gotten her hands on and made Derek promise not to give to Stiles. That was one of the only times that Cora had meddled that Derek was actually thankful for. He’d burned the poem after so that it would never see the light of day again.

“No fucking way am I doing that,” Derek declared, sitting up to look his sister dead in the face. Cora’s grin was way too sinister for his liking. “Don’t even fucking think about doing anything ok?”

“Sure thing, Der,” she replied sweetly, nudging him off her bed with her toes. “Now leave me to my beauty rest.”

“I will honest to god murder you if you pull anything.”

“Ok, big bro.”

Derek wasn’t very confident, to say the least.

 

***

 

“You getting Allison anything for Love Week?” Stiles asked Scott the next day during chemistry. He had his phone in his lap, scrolling through the options for gifts on the school’s special website.

“I was thinking of doing something with the school band, but then again, she might hate that,” Scott pondered. “Hey, can you come round later to help me work on my speech for the mid-season dinner? I still haven’t got it done.”

“Dude, it’s next week,” Stiles whispered. “That’s like, years of time.”

“It’s literally not,” Scott snorted. “I could seriously use your help. I’ve watched so many acceptance speeches on YouTube as research that I think my brain’s turned to mush.”

“Happy to help, buddy,” Stiles replied with a smile. “Hey, I was actually thinking of asking Derek to go with me.”

Scott shot up in his seat at that and whirled around to face Stiles. “Wait seriously?” he hissed, sinking back down in his chair when Harris shot him a glare.

“Yeah, I mean, he’s like the sole reason I’ve gotten good over the past few years and I think I kind of owe it to him.”

“Yeah, that’d be really nice of you, I think,” Scott smiled. “Are you going to ask him as your date?”

“Isn’t that what it’s called when you invite someone to something like that?”

“No, idiot, as a _date_ date.”

“I doubt he’d say yes,” Stiles replied. “I mean, he turned down Mason yesterday and that kid’s cute as fuck. He’s probably not into dudes.”

“You’re an idiot,” Scott muttered, squawking when Stiles tossed a pencil at him.

 

***

 

“And what do you want?” Erica asked with a sinister grin when Stiles slid into a chair at Derek’s usual lunch table.

“Looking for Derek,” Stiles replied, taking a sip of his juice box. He’d been looking for Derek all day to ask him to come to the mid-season dinner with him, but he’d apparently vanished. Stiles had now sunk to levels of staking out a spot at his lunch table to catch him.

“Why, looking to lead him on a little more?” Erica shot back, stabbing a fork into her lunch viciously.

“Lay off, Erica,” Cora laughed, patting Stiles’ shoulder as she sat down next to him. “Needing some more lacrosse tips?”

“Actually I came to ask him to the mid-season lacrosse dinner,” Stiles said. Cora choked on her water.

“Wait, seriously?” she asked, a smile spreading across her face.

“Is that really such a shocking revelation?” Stiles joked.

“What’s so shocking?” Derek asked, dropping his tray onto the table and stopping short once he noticed Stiles. “Uh, hey, Stiles. Did you need my notes from practice yesterday?”

“Nope, I wanted to see if you’d come with me to the lacrosse dinner next Saturday. I kind of owe you my success, after all.”

“Yeah, sure,” Derek replied, coolly.

“Cool, I’ll give you the details next practice,” Stiles smiled, standing up. “I’ll make it worth your while, I promise.”

After Stiles made it out of hearing range Cora squealed and grabbed Derek’s arm.

“Did Stiles Stilinski seriously just ask you out on a date? Oh my god.”

“Pretty sure that wasn’t a date invitation.”

“I think it actually might have been, in his convoluted way,” Erica piped up.

“Shit, we’re going to have to convene to make you look hot as fuck,” Cora declared, clapping her hands and squealing again.

“It’s like our baby’s growing up,” Erica cooed. Derek glared at both of them, but couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face.

 

***

 

True to his word Stiles stopped Derek at the end of practice later that week to dole out the details for the dinner.

“It’s not super fancy so don’t bother dressing up too much. Coach usually goes in a tracksuit, if that tells you anything. I was thinking we could go to Lydia Martin’s party afterwards, if you’re keen? Everyone usually heads out after, it’s tradition.”

“Yeah, sound great,” Derek replied, though spending the night surrounded by drunk lacrosse players wasn’t exactly the date he’d had in mind. He wouldn’t be able to walk 2 feet through that party without someone making a joke about him and Stiles.

“Fantastic,” Stiles said, his grin spreading across his face. “I’ll pick you up at 5:30 on the night.” He turned to make his way to the locker room but stopped when Derek called out to him.

“Might want to work on your right side defense for the game tomorrow if you want to score MVP again this year,” Derek teased.

“Thanks, Coach,” Stiles replied with a mock salute, shooting Derek one last grin over his shoulder as he hopped back down the rows of seats.

“Is it true you’re taking Derek to the dinner?” Danny asked Stiles as they showered.

“I figured I owe it to him,” Stiles replied over the wolf whistles echoing off the tiled walls around him.

“I don’t think it’s classified as wining and dining your date if it’s on Coach’s dime,” Ethan teased from the next shower.

“Yeah, Stilinski, at least pay for your meal himself before asking him to get on his knees,” Jackson called out.

“Fuck off,” Stiles shot back a little too quickly. “Unlike you dickheads I actually respect Derek.”

“Enough to turn him down if he bends over for you?”

“Which he will.”

“I’ll bet you 50 bucks he asks to suck Stiles off.”

“Fuck you, I’m not betting against that.”

Stiles gritted his teeth and turned off the shower with a little more force than necessary.

“That’s what I thought,” Jackson teased.

“You don’t know shit,” Stiles shot back, drying his hair roughly with his towel.

 

***

 

Stiles was uncharacteristically nervous for the game that Friday night. Derek hadn’t been wrong at the last practice; Stiles needed to bring his A game if he wanted to secure MVP again for the half season. He might not get it on principal, since he’d turned down the captaincy, and he certainly wouldn’t hold it against Scott if that’s how it played out. Scott was a damn good player, and he deserved both the captaincy and the award, if he got it. All the same, Stiles pushed himself in the warm up and tried to get in the zone. He scored a few minutes into the match, and locked eyes with Derek as he celebrated with his team mates.

“Right side defense,” he muttered to himself. The tip came in handy only a few minutes later when one of the opposing players attempted to knock him off course for the net from the right hand side. He heard Derek’s voice in his head and moments later managed to dodge the intercept that he wouldn’t have seen coming if he hadn’t been paying particular attention to that self-quadrant. He scored a clean shot into the net and pointed both fingers at Derek in the stands as his team cheered.

~

“Oh my god, that’s actually so cute,” Cora cried, grabbing onto Derek’s arm as Stiles pointed him out from the field.

“At least he’s listening to me,” Derek replied. He was blushing hard enough that Stiles could probably see it from his position on the field.

“You’re totally swooning, I can see it.”

“I think you’re swooning enough for the both of us,” Derek teased, but didn’t outright deny it.

Stiles’ footwork was perfect during the game. He whipped past players and dodged between others, racking up assists and goals throughout the match. The stands were awash with cheers when Scott and Stiles played off each other to score the last goal of the game in the final twenty seconds. Derek laughed when Stiles flopped to the ground as the buzzer sounded. His teammates leapt on top of him in a giant group pile of maroon and white as they cheered and chanted. Derek watched as they all stood, helping each other up and patting each other’s backs. Stiles looked for Derek in the stands, and held out his fist towards him when their eyes found each other, grinning from ear to ear. Derek rolled his eyes teasingly and held his fist out into the air, as if they could fist bump with eighty feet between them. He watched as the team jogged toward the showers, their raucous laughter following them as they went.

Derek didn’t usually stick around after games, preferring to beat the rush of cars that clogged the streets around the school after the teams emerged to be either congratulated or given condolences by their family and friends, and that game was no exception. He and Cora walked to the car they shared and sped off home, just managing to beat the post-game traffic.

The weekend was uneventful, and Derek and Cora managed to binge watch an entire show by Sunday night, much to their Mother’s dismay. By the time lacrosse practice on Monday rolled around, Derek had managed to tone down his levels of panic at the thought of his possibly-date-but-also-possibly-not-date with Stiles that Saturday. Cora, on the other hand, was seemingly freaking out more the closer they got to the day. Thankfully Erica had offered to take her out after school so Derek could sit through practice without being accosted by his sister for once.

“Anything today?” Stiles asked after practice, running his hand though his sweaty hair. Derek willed his blush to go away, but the noises Stiles made as he tried to catch his breath were ridiculously distracting.

“Um, you were great … today,” Derek said, attempting to close his ears off. Stiles’ panting was getting ridiculous and Derek was only a few seconds away from popping a boner right in front of him.

“Really?” Stiles questioned, one eyebrow raised. “Lacrosse coach extraordinaire Derek Hale has no critiques about my performance?”

Derek let out a small squeak at Stiles’ word choice and shook his head quickly. “You’ve got MVP in the bag,” he managed to get out.

“Hey, where’d you go after the game on Friday?” Stiles asked. “I was looking for you.”

“We try to leave quickly. Beat the traffic.”

“I was going to invite you to come out with me and some of the guys afterwards but you disappeared on me. I thought I was your favourite,” Stiles teased.

“Uh, no totally, um, my favourite but, uh, traffic and … fuck,” Derek mumbled out. Stiles had lifted his shirt up to wipe his forehead and his stomach was exposed, the muscles glistening slightly with sweat from practice.

“You all good?” Stiles asked after dropping his shirt. Derek could only nod, eyes landing everywhere except on Stiles. “Well cool. Guess I’ll see you next practice. You’re still coming on Saturday, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Derek replied. And it was true, no way in hell was he missing his date with Stiles.

 

***

 

Derek wasn’t sure he would ever be able to look Stiles in the face again. There was a line he hadn’t crossed in his time of paying particular attention to Stiles, and that was masturbation. More specifically, he’d made sure to never think about Stiles when he jerked off, because that changed the whole game in terms of creepiness. Sure, sometimes Stiles popped up, but Derek always made sure to steer his fantasies in a new direction when familiar moles and brown eyes made an appearance. But that night after practice Derek couldn’t get Stiles’ damn stomach muscles out of his head. He decided since Stiles had maybe-possibly asked him on a date then he was entitled to one tasteful jerk off session with him in mind.

It was not tasteful.

Derek fumbled the lock on his door closed as soon as he got home, ripping his shirt and pants off and diving onto his bed. He had been half hard the entire drive home, damn near crashing his car when he turned too wide coming through the woods as he remembered the sound of Stiles trying to catch his breath.

He ripped open the bottom drawer of his bedside table and pulled out the bottle of lube. Yanking his boxers down, he squirted lube onto one palm and reached down to cup his now fully hard dick, stroking up and down the length. Immediately Stiles filled his mind and Derek tugged himself faster, imagining it was Stiles touching him. Would he do it fast or slow? Would he grip him tight or loosely? Derek wondered what Stiles did to himself, and let out a moan at the imagery.

“Fuck,” Derek muttered, grabbing the lube bottle and squirting more onto his fingers. With his clean hand he grabbed a pillow and pushed it under his hips, circling his hole with a wet finger. He pushed it in, and quickly worked up to two, curling them inside himself and gasping at the slight burn that always accompanied the stretch. Stiles would probably be able to get a better angle with his fingers than Derek could, and Derek twisted them, imagining it was Stiles searching for that particular spot inside him. Derek hiked his knees up higher and began to thrust his fingers in and out quicker, playing the sound of Stiles catching his breath over and over in his head. Would he sound like that as he fucked Derek, or would he be calm and collected, preferring to take Derek apart first? Derek stripped his cock faster as he hit his prostate with his fingers, arching his back and curling his toes in the sheets. It only took a few more thrusts of his fingers before Derek was coming all over his hand and stomach, muscles clenching down on the fingers still buried in his ass. Derek had never slept with anyone before, but he was fairly sure he would with Stiles if he asked.

After a moment he wiped his hands off and pulled out his phone, shooting off a text to his group message with both Cora and Erica.

_Derek Hale, 4:30pm: Am I a slut?_

_Erica Reyes, 4:31pm: oh fucking Christ_

_Cora Hale, 4:31pm: Derek, honey_

_Erica Reyes, 4:32pm: if you’re a slut then I don’t think there’s a word that exists to describe me_

_Cora Hale, 4:33pm: is this about Stiles?_

_Derek Hale, 4:35pm: no comment_

 

***

 

“Absolutely not.”

“ _Mom_.”

“You’re not going.”

Derek and Cora’s protests melded into one as they pleaded with their mother. Cora had chosen to bring up Derek’s love life yet again that Thursday night, ribbing Derek about his date on Saturday. Unsurprisingly, their mother was less than thrilled about it.

“All we’ve heard about for years is the crush that you’ve had on this boy and how he’s paid no attention to you. Do you think it’s a coincidence that you started lifting weights this year and now he’s suddenly interested?” She leveled her gaze at Derek.

“ _Please_ , Mom,” Derek cried. “He’s invited me because I’ve helped him with lacrosse, it’s honestly nothing else.”

“Mom, this is a huge deal,” Cora cut in. “We all know boys are oblivious assholes – sorry, Der – but what if this is Stiles finally pulling his head out of his ass? This could be Derek’s chance. _Please_.”

They both stuck out their lower lips and directed their best pleading faces at their mother. She sighed but conceded defeat.

“Fine, but honey, if he teats you with anything less than absolute gentlemanly behaviour then you don’t stand for it, do you hear me?”

Derek and Cora both cheered, lifting their water glasses to toast across the table.

 

***

 

“Scott, is this a date?” Stiles yelled the moment Scott picked up his phone.

“Hello to you to, Stiles.”

“I’m stressing out here, man. What’s the protocol for things like this? Am I supposed to bring flowers or is that just a thing that happens in movies?”

“I thought you said it wasn’t a date.” Stiles could _feel_ Scott’s shit-eating grin through the phone.

“It’s not, but it is.”

“Thank god you clarified that.”

“I didn’t ask him to, like, be my boyfriend or anything, but doesn’t asking someone to dinner come with … expectations, or something?” Stiles threw himself backwards onto his bed and groaned.

“Look, I don’t think Derek’s expecting anything bar you taking him to the dinner and being extremely nice to him and not letting any of the guys give him shit or so help me god, Stiles, I will castrate you myself,” Scott growled. “And god, just don’t lead him on. Please, for my sake.”

“When have I ever lead him on?”

“No comment.”

“No, seriously, Scott. He’s not interested, anyway, so any non-existent leading on will be moot anyway.”

“You _cannot_ be this thick,” Scott groaned. “You’re one of the smartest guys in our year, how are you this thick.”

“So that’s a no on the flowers then?”

“Unless you’re accompanying them with a declaration of intent, no.”

“Alright. I’ve got to get ready, but I’ll see you there. May the best man win MVP,” Stiles joked.

“I’ll practice my surprised face in the mirror for when you win,” Scott replied.

 

***

 

“I can’t fucking do this,” Derek cried. It was 5:00 on the Saturday and the time that Stiles was supposed to be collecting Derek was drawing nearer. Cora and Erica had spent the last hour poking and prodding at Derek to get him ready for his date-with-1000-question-marks-attatched with Stiles.

“Yes you can,” Erica declared, grabbing him by the shoulders and staring into his eyes. “You are hot shit. He’s going to have to hold himself back from putting his hands all over you.”

“She’s right,” Cora called as she rushed back in from the bathroom, a container of gel in her hands. “Any residual heterosexuality is going to run for the hills when you open the door.” She twisted the lid off the container and proceeded to run the mousse through Derek’s hair.

“Wait, you’re not planning on sucking him off, are you?” Erica asked, grabbing onto Cora’s wrist.

“Who, me?” she asked.

“No, you _idiot_ , Derek. Are you planning on sucking him off, yes or no?”

“Like, tonight, or…?”

“Because if you are then you shouldn’t have product in your hair,” Erica declared, wisely.

“Shit, she’s right,” Cora cried. “If he puts his hand in your hair it’s going to be all weird and crusty. Fuck, go wash it out.”

“Calm the fuck down,” Derek cried, grabbing onto both Cora and Erica’s hands as they attempted to push him towards the door. “Nobody’s sucking anybody off tonight.”

“Well, not necessarily,” Erica began.

“He _did_ say he’d make it worth your while if you went with him to the dinner,” Cora continued.

“There’s a hell of a lot to be inferred from that…”

“Ok, please stop before I tear my hair out,” Derek yelled.

“Honestly, he probably owes you a blowjob with all those hours you’ve put into watching him get all sweaty on the field,” Cora said, running a final hand through Derek’s hair and deeming it artfully mussed.

The sound of the doorbell ringing just about made Derek jump out of his skin. Cora and Erica agreed with him, if their screams were any indication. They paused for a moment before Erica screamed “go before your Mom gets it” and Derek and Cora tripped over their own feet in the haste to get to the door. Cora managed to herd their Mom back to the kitchen while Derek took a deep breath and opened the door.

Stiles stood on the porch with his hands in the pockets of his khakis, his bottom lip between his teeth. His face lit up when Derek answered the door. His grin was infectious, and Derek felt himself smiling back even wider.

“Hey, sorry I’m early. I severely overestimated the amount of time it would take to get here,” Stiles apologized.

“No worries, I was ready to go anyway,” Derek replied.

“Waiting by the door for my arrival?” Stiles teased.

“Of course,” Derek answered, winking at Stiles. “Just let me tell my Mom I’m going.” He turned back into the house and immediately noticed Cora and Erica who were crouched down in the kitchen doorway, staring at him. Derek rushed over and hissed “I just fucking winked at him, oh my god”, sending the girls into a fit of laughter. “Mom, I’m going. Please stay in the kitchen and don’t venture out for any reason at all.”

“Derek,” he heard his mother call, warningly, but he was already slamming the front door shut behind him. He tripped over the stoop in his haste to get out, but Stiles caught him with a hand on his elbow.

“Eager to leave, I take it?” he teased.

“Let’s go before my Mom decides to strap me to the kitchen counter,” Derek replied, tugging Stiles down the porch steps.

“A little overprotective?” Stiles asked.

“You could say that,” Derek replied. No fucking way was he telling Stiles about Cora’s unintentional-but-also-kind-of-intentional slandering of his character to their parents. That was a can of worms that never needed to be opened.

“Don’t worry, I promise to take care of you,” Stiles said, shooting Derek a smile as they drove down the road, trees whipping past at a speed that was probably counterintuitive to what Stiles was saying. “Well, take care of you while making sure you have the greatest night ever,” he clarified. “Seriously, I’m gonna rock your world.”

Derek had no idea what to say to that. He was pretty sure Stiles didn’t mean for it to sound like they were ending the night with marathon sex. He settled for “sounds, uh, rad”.

They way Stiles drove was, quite frankly, frightening, and Derek was pretty sure he would have racked up enough traffic fines to build a new gym for their school if his dad wasn’t the sheriff. By the time they pulled up to the diner Derek’s arms were sore from trying to brace himself against the door and roof of the Jeep without letting Stiles see that was what he was doing. After all, he’d quite like to spend more time in the Jeep, though looking up at the roof from the back seats was more what he had in mind. Not dying in a fiery crash because Stiles had been simultaneously changing the radio stations and merging lanes.

The diner the dinner was being held at was one that was avoided like the plague by anyone who wanted to avoid food poisoning, and Derek was a little nervous. It apparently showed.

“Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. Just don’t order anything with fish and you’re golden,” Stiles said as he turned off the ignition. “We had an incident last year where Aiden ordered calamari, and let’s just say the less said about that the better.”

“Alright,” Derek replied nervously.

“Hey,” Stiles said, placing his hand on Derek’s arm. “I said I’d take care of you, yeah? And anyway, this is the low point of the night, I promise. Lydia always has the best finger food at her parties if you don’t want to eat much here. Or we can stop by a fast food place on the way there, my treat.” Stiles shot him a blinding smile, and Derek couldn’t help but to smile back.

“It’ll be fun,” he said.

He instantly questioned his statement at the sight of the long table filled with the players of the lacrosse team, whose grins turned predatory when Derek walked into their field of view.

“Oh god,” Derek muttered under his breath. He relaxed slightly when he saw Scott McCall, who was waving frantically at him.

“I saved you guys seats,” Scott called out, gesturing to the two vacant spots beside him.

“Thanks,” Derek smiled. He’d always liked Scott. He was a good captain, and seemed to be a really great guy.

“Thanks again for whipping Stiles into shape. It makes it a lot easier to focus on the newbies when someone else is watching out for him,” Scott joked, giving Derek a light punch on the arm.

“We all know how well you’re watching out for Stilinski,” Jackson sneered, but was quickly shut up by both Stiles’ yell and Scott’s harsh glare.

“You wish you had someone that gave a shit about how you look on the field,” Stiles retorted, sliding into his seat beside Derek.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all heavily indebted to Hale for keeping Stilinski occupied and whatever,” Coach said, rising to his feet, before launching into a convoluted speech that Derek wasn’t entirely sure was even about lacrosse. By the time he finished the waiters were standing around the table awkwardly, not wanting to interrupt Finstock.

Derek steered clear of the fish, as per Stiles’ suggestion, and ordered the chicken instead. He contemplated getting pasta, but remembered a throwaway line from some movie about never ordering spaghetti on a date. Not that he was sure this was even a date yet.

Stiles, apparently, hadn’t watched the same movie as Derek, because he proceeded to order the spaghetti bolognaise, much to Scott’s apparent dismay.

“Dude, you’ll get it all over your shirt,” Scott hissed, trying to grab the menu out of Stiles’ hands. “Order a salad or something.”

“I’m not ordering a fucking salad, Scott,” Stiles replied, deadpan.

“Well then don’t complain when Lydia turns you away at the door when you inevitably turn up with streaks of sauce down your shirt.”

“I’ll just walk behind Derek,” Stiles stated. He shot a glare at the twins who had opened their mouths, clearly to make a joke about Stiles being behind Derek.

“Have you ever been to one of Lydia’s parties before?” Scott directed towards Derek who shook his head. “They can get pretty wild. I have to work at the clinic tomorrow so I won’t be drinking. Come find me if it gets too much. No doubt Stiles will be off his face by ten.”

“Hey, I take offense to that,” Stiles cried. “And anyway, it’s not about me tonight, it’s about giving Derek a proper party experience. Not that those don’t usually include holding someone’s hair back as they hurl into a sink, but maybe we’ll leave that for next time.” Stiles turned to wink at Derek, who nearly fell off his chair.

True to Scott’s assumptions, Stiles nearly dropped half his plate of spaghetti on himself as soon as it arrived, saved only by Derek’s quick reflexes.

“Shit, you sure you don’t want to try out for the team?” Danny asked, staring at where Derek’s hand was precariously balancing the bowl on the edge of the table.

“Oh my god, thank you,” Stiles cried. “Not so much for saving my outfit, but for saving me from Scott saying ‘I told you so’ for the rest of the night.”

Derek then proceeded to die through spaghetti consumption.

The way Stiles ate the pasta was _obscene_. Derek didn’t think someone could make eating pasta look like fellatio, but somehow Stiles managed it. He hollowed his cheeks when he sucked in every strand, licking the sauce off his lip after each time. He practically deep throated his fork, and wrapped his tongue around and around the strands of pasta to gather them off the utensil. Derek had been sitting there staring with a forkful of chicken suspended in midair for a solid minute before he was broken out of it by Danny groaning “oh my _god_ ”.

“What?” Stiles asked.

“Stop practicing your blow job skills at the dinner table,” Danny said, with raised eyebrows. “You’re going to kill every guy on the team who’s less than heterosexual, Derek included.”

Stiles choked on a bite of pasta and turned to look at Derek, his cheeks flushed and eyes wide. Derek just stared at the table, chewing the bite of chicken that had gone cold from being suspended in the air.

Derek made conversation with Isaac for the rest of the dinner, avoiding meeting Stiles’ eyes as much as he could. Most of the guys on the team weren’t bad, and Derek started to find their joking comments about him and Stiles funny. Some of them were extremely well crafted, and Derek tugged on Stiles’ sleeve to relay one to him through fits of laughter.

After most of the team had finished their meals, Finstock started banging his knife against his water glass loudly.

“Alright, so now I’m supposed to boost your morale by recognizing the talent here so come and get your trophy if I tell you to,” Finstock announced, pulling a sheet of paper from his pocket. There were only a few awards, since it was only midseason, but Stiles was recognized for scoring the most goals in games so far. He beamed at Derek when Finstock lobbed his trophy across the table at him, and he caught it one handed.

“And now what I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for, the midseason MVP,” Finstock said, clearing his throat. “Now, I thought about this – not too hard, mind you – and I couldn’t really give it to anyone but Stilinski, so here you go.” He threw the other trophy across the table at Stiles who fumbled to catch it with the first one still in his hands.

“Am I supposed to make a speech or something?” Stiles asked, directing to question to the table at large. The question was met with an affirmative response, so Stiles lifted the trophy to his face in place of a microphone and cleared his throat.

“As with every time I have to make a speech I tell you guys I’m crap with speeches, so fair warning. Anyway this seasons’ been great so far, and we couldn’t have done it without our fantastic captain, Scotty,” he paused for a moment while the team let out whoops and cheers for Scott. “And Finstock of course. All our new players are doing really well, so keep up the great work guys. But personally I probably wouldn’t have made it off the bench every game if it wasn’t for Derek,” Stiles said, clapping Derek on the back and smiling down at him. “Seriously, man, I can’t thank you enough for helping me improve every week; I couldn’t have done it without you. So I’m officially crediting the rest of the season to you. To Derek,” Stiles cheered, raising his water glass. To Derek’s surprise the rest of the team raised their glasses too.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Derek said once Stiles had sat back down and the conversations around them had resumed. “I only do so much, it’s your talent that got you where you are.”

“Don’t be so humble,” Stiles replied, squeezing Derek’s hand. “I would’ve been fucked if you hadn’t come along.”

Derek smiled down at the table, and squeezed Stiles’ hand back. Hand holding meant it was a date, didn’t it? That pretty much classified it.

“Hey, I’m just going to the bathroom, I’ll be right back,” Stiles whispered into Derek’s ear. The proximity of his breath made Derek shiver, and he wondered what it would be like for Stiles to lean in just a tiny bit further to press his lips against Derek’s neck.

“Don’t say a word,” Stiles said to Scott once the door to the bathroom closed behind them.

“Not saying anything,” Scott replied, throwing his palms up in front of him.

“Good.”

“It was really nice though, for you to do that. You weren’t wrong, he’s made you a better player.”

“I know,” Stiles said, smiling down at his feet.

“I saw you holding his hand afterwards,” Scott said after a few moments, shooting a look at Stiles in the mirror as they washed their hands next to each other.

“I wasn’t _holding his hand_ , it was a thank you squeeze. Don’t blow it out of proportion.”

“I’m just pointing out how he’ll probably see it.”

“Except he won’t, because he doesn’t see it that way. See _us_ that way,” Stiles said, exasperated. The rest of the team already said this shit constantly, he didn’t need it from Scott too, and he told him as much.

“Look, I like Derek and I don’t want to see him get hurt.”

“I’m not going to hurt him, Scott,” Stiles scoffed.

“Maybe not intentionally,” Scott replied.

In their absence Derek had slid into Stiles’ seat to talk to Danny, bantering back and forth about a class they shared together. Stiles slipped quietly into the seat next to Derek and trained his eyes on him for a few moments, just watching. He’d figured out he was bisexual years ago, and it was no secret that Derek was a good looking guy. Stiles let himself wonder for a moment if Derek actually did see Stiles’ dinner invitation and constant proximity as interest, and if he did was he not making a move because of Stiles or because of himself? He could just ask but he didn’t want to make it weird if Derek wasn’t interested. Stiles still wasn’t convinced that Derek even liked guys, and he definitely didn’t want to lose his help with lacrosse. There was also the developing realization that Derek was actually a pretty cool guy. Despite their regular interaction over the last few years, they had never actually hung out before the dinner, and Stiles wasn’t sure if it could even be classified as hanging out if they were with the team at a compulsory dinner.

“You coming, Stiles?” Stiles looked up to see Derek, Scott and Danny out of their chairs watching him.

“Sorry, what?” Stiles asked, shaking his head from side to side and blinking a few times. “Zoned out there for a minute.”

“We’re all stopping by the Sonic on the way to Lydia’s. We asked if you guys were coming.”

“You want to?” Stiles asked Derek. Now that he’d tossed around the possibility of this being an actual date into his mind, he couldn’t help but notice how damn good Derek looked. His hair was just the right side of mussed and his shirt fit him perfectly. Stiles had no idea how he’d never paid attention before.

“Yeah, sure,” Derek replied, tugging on his jacket. “But only if we get onion rings.”

“Sold,” Stiles declared. He tossed his keys into the air and caught them again, jingling them towards Derek. “Want to drive?”

“Oh god, no,” Derek replied far too quickly.

“Should my baby take offense to that?” Stiles teased, wiggling his eyebrows at Derek.

“Actually I was thinking more for the safety of your car. Mom still won’t let me drive the Camaro after I almost ran if off the road while trying to change gears. I’m banished to the Toyota for the rest of my life.”

Stiles just clapped Derek on the back and offered him a sympathetic look.

True to his word, Stiles ordered Derek the biggest box of onion rings on the menu, and mozzarella sticks for himself. They parked in the carpark and flipped up the trunk of the Jeep, sitting inside and tapping their shoes on the rear bumper as they ate. The night air was warm against their skin, and the light of the full moon bathed the parking lot in a dim light.

“It’s been cool hanging out with you tonight, we should do it more often,” Stiles said after a few minutes of silence, his mozzarella sticks long gone.

“Yeah, that’d be cool,” Derek replied. Stiles had to tear his eyes away from Derek’s profile, which was silhouetted by the street light just off to the side of the car. “We should probably get going soon if we want to catch the party, though.”

“You excited?” Stiles asked, tossing their trash into the garbage with perfect accuracy.

Derek snorted in response. “That’s a strong word.”

“Don’t write it off just yet. Mark my words, you’ll have a great time.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

When they walked through Lydia’s front door, Derek was met with the exact scene he’d expected. A bunch of the schools most popular kids were rubbing up against each other in the living room to some dance track with no words, and through the glass doors leading to the backyard Derek could see a handful of kids lighting up a bowl. At least no one had appeared to have thrown up on the floor yet. Lydia was upon them as soon as they closed the door behind them, a tray of shockingly brightly coloured drinks balanced in her hand.

“Drink up,” she ordered with a smile that fell somewhere between sweet and threatening.

“Lydia, looking lovely as always,” Stiles said, grabbing a cup of neon blue liquid from the tray.

“Stilinski,” she replied, eyes grazing over his outfit before nodding approvingly. “And Derek. What a surprise.” She pushed the tray towards him slightly.

“We both know you’re not surprised,” Stiles retorted. He grabbed a cup filled with something purple and held it out to Derek. “It’s a rule that you have to take a drink as soon as you walk in the door. Something about mutually assured destruction.”

“Right,” Derek said, taking the cup from Stiles. The liquid was surprisingly cool considering how long Lydia had probably been holding it, and it was weirdly sweet. The aftertaste of the alcohol burned his throat and left him coughing. “Fuck, did you put a whole bottle of vodka in this? How many shots are in here?”

“It’s not vodka, it’s tequila,” Lydia replied, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “And unless you’re driving home you don’t need to worry about it. Just take the free alcohol.”

Derek just nodded in reply.

“Your domain’s over there,” Lydia said to Stiles, pointing towards the lounge room. “But I’m thinking Derek would probably rather be out by the pool. Scott’s out there if you want to palm him off.”

“Nobody’s palming Derek off to anybody else, he’s my responsibility for the night,” Stiles declared.

“God help you,” Lydia said to Derek, patting him on the shoulder. She ignored Stiles’ whine of disapproval and spun around, heading back into the party with her tray of drinks.

“Want another drink, or should we head outside?” Stiles asked, turning to Derek. The coloured lights danced over his skin in mesmerizing patterns. Derek forced himself to keep his eyes locked on Stiles’ rather than drifting down to his mouth.

“Another drink,” he replied after a moment. If he was planning to get through the night he should probably make sure Stiles was drunk. At least then he likely wouldn’t notice Derek staring at him every five seconds.

“Good man,” Stiles cried, patting Derek on the back. He led the way to Lydia’s kitchen, where various bottles of just about every type of alcohol available were arranged. “Pick your poison.”

“Whatever you’re having is fine,” Derek replied.

“Vodka it is,” Stiles yelled, grabbing two cups from off the counter and rinsing them under the tap. Derek’s eyes went wide when he saw how much Stiles was pouring in, and Stiles laughed at his expression.

“If I drink lots now then I can sober up for later,” he explained.

“That plan seems to have some holes,” Derek replied. Stiles poured some kind of soda/juice concoction into the cups and handed one to Derek.

“What should we toast to?” he asked Derek, swirling his cup around and nearly spilling its contents onto the floor.

“To Lydia, I suppose,” Derek said, sniffing his cup. He recoiled at the strong scent and wasn’t entirely sure he’d be able to make it through the cup before throwing up. God, that’d certainly make an impression on Stiles, though not the one he was going for.

“To Lydia,” Stiles cried, knocking back the cup and gulping down the liquid.

“Oh fuck,” Derek muttered, but followed suit. He distracted himself from the burning taste of the alcohol by watching how Stiles’ throat moved as he chugged the liquid.

“Oh fuck, that was bad,” Stiles muttered, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. Derek dropped the empty cup onto the counter and took deep breaths to calm his stomach.

“Remind me never to let you make me a drink again,” Derek replied.

“I’ll take that criticism,” Stiles said, nodding. “Want to go see Scott?”

Derek nodded, and they made their way through to the backyard where Scott and Isaac were sitting on lounge chairs by the pool. They were greeted with cheers which Stiles gleefully returned in his now less than sober state. Derek leant back against Scott’s chair and pulled off his shoes, dipping his toes into the pool. He started to zone out, watching the ripples his feet made through the clear blue water, and barely noticed when Stiles sat down next to him to follow suit.

“We should have brought stuff to swim in,” Isaac said after a few minutes. “I always forget how damn nice Lydia’s pool is.”

“We don’t need bathers,” Stiles replied cheekily, standing to unbutton his pants. Scott shot out a hand to stop him.

“Lydia won’t want your bare junk anywhere near her pool,” Scott declared. Derek was inclined to agree with him, though he wouldn’t have minded it himself.

“Stilinski, why do these parties always end up with you trying to show everyone your dick?” Danny called out from the other side of the pool.

“Shut up, Danny, you know you want to see it,” Stiles called back, shaking his hips from side to side. Danny just laughed and threw an empty cup across the pool at him. It didn’t make the full distance, and Derek stretched his legs out to reel it in to the side with his toes.

“Hey, we should play some party games,” Scott said, pushing himself up off the chair. “That’s a surefire way to give Derek the proper party experience.”

“Great idea,” Stiles cried, clapping his hands together. He rushed into the house, still sans shoes, and came out a few minutes later with a half full wine bottle and a few people Derek recognize from school. He waved Derek, Scott and Isaac over to a grassy patch close to the pool, and everyone arranged themselves into a circle.

“What are we playing?” Derek asked, taking a sip of Danny’s cup. The taste of whiskey burned his mouth but he fought back a wince.

“Let’s do Never Have I Ever,” one of the girls shouted.

“Do you know how to play?” Stiles asked Derek, leaning in close to whisper in his ear. The feeling of his breath sent goosebumps up and down Derek’s arm.

Derek shook his head.

“So there’s a bunch of different ways but the way we’ll do it is everyone puts up five fingers and you have to take a drink and put down a finger if someone says something you’ve done. So if Isaac said ‘never have I ever taken American History’ you’d drink and put your finger down. The loser has to do something of the group’s choice as punishment.”

“Got it,” Derek said. Stiles smiled at him and took a moment to lean back, keeping himself in Derek’s space. Derek’s alcohol addled brain almost shot out a hand to keep him there.

The game progressed as expected, with Derek keeping all five fingers up until Heather declared “never have I ever masturbated while thinking of someone in this circle”.

Derek took a drink as slyly as possible. It was a colossal failure, as the question garnered a surprisingly negative response, and only Danny joined Derek in knocking back his drink. Derek was met with whistles and jokes, and he blushed bright red, hiding his face in his chest.

“You guys have to tell us who,” one of the girls called out and Danny rolled his eyes in response.

“This isn’t Truth or Dare,” he replied, filling up his cup again. “And besides, we all know who the object of Derek’s fantasies is.”

“You don’t though,” Derek replied. He decided to lie through his teeth to save himself from the inevitable embarrassment. “Unless you’re thinking of yourself, Danny.”

Danny’s cry of “what?” was drowned out by the cheers from the rest of the people in the circle, bar Stiles who cried out “wait, you’re gay?”

“Holy shit, Stiles,” Isaac muttered. Scott had his head in his hands. Derek just nodded.

“Oh, cool,” Stiles replied, shooting Derek a smile. “Obviously it’s cool, I just never knew.”

Derek finished off the rest of his drink to avoid replying to the statement. Eventually the game transitioned into an odd mix of the previous game and Spin the Bottle.

~

Stiles was still reeling from Derek’s earlier revelation of being gay. If Scott had been right about that then chances are he was probably right about a fair bit more than Stiles had previously thought. The question now wasn’t whether he was right, but what exactly he was right about. Instead of the game answering Stiles’ questions it just raised more. Stiles took the bottle from Scott and spun it, watching as the neck of the bottle did a full rotation past everybody in the circle before slowing to a stop pointing at Derek. The circle erupted into catcalls and Stiles glanced over to see Danny patting Derek on the back, and a number of lacrosse players shooting him a thumbs up.

“You cool with this?” Stiles asked Derek before he made any moves to lean forward. Derek’s comfort was more important than a stupid party game after all, and if Derek felt weird about it or didn’t want to incite more jokes during lacrosse practices then Stiles would stay firmly seated where he was. After a moment Derek nodded, ducking his head to hide the blush coloring his cheeks.

“Those are the rules,” Derek replied. Stiles bit his lip and leaned in. He ignored the leery comments from his peers and pressed his lips to Derek’s softly. He reached up to slip his hand into the soft hair on the back of Derek’s head and moved their lips together slowly. Derek kissed back immediately, his soft lips moving in perfect tandem to Stiles’.

~

Derek was pretty sure his brain left his body when Stiles started kissing him. Despite the shouts around them for Stiles to slip in his tongue or start groping Derek, he kept the kiss so sweet Derek was pretty sure his teeth had spontaneously grown holes. It was the most gentlemanly kiss Derek had ever seen at a party. It was the kind of kiss you would give someone after a great second date when you were pretty sure their parent was watching through the window.

After Stiles pulled back Derek kept his eyes closed for a few more seconds, savoring the memory of Stiles’ lips on his since he was pretty sure he wouldn’t ever get it again.

The party started to wind down after that, and Stiles managed to con Scott into giving both him and Derek a ride home. And by con, he meant that Scott had insisted that Stiles not drive because he didn’t want Derek’s death on his conscience. The drive was relatively quiet, the silence broken only by Derek’s directions towards his house and the soft lull of the radio turned right down.

“Thanks for the ride guys,” Derek smiled as Scott pulled up in front of his house.

“I’ll walk you up,” Stiles said as Derek opened his door.

“No funny business,” Scott joked, shooting Derek a smile.

They walked up to the front door together, Derek patting his pockets to find his keys.

“I hope you had a good time,” Stiles said once Derek had gotten the door unlocked. “This, uh, kiss didn’t make it weird for you or anything, did it?”

“Stiles, it’s fine,” Derek said, smiling reassuringly. “Seriously, don’t overthink it.”

“Ok, good,” Stiles said after a moment, shooting Derek a smile. “Because we should hang out again. As friends. I don’t know why we haven’t yet; you’re a cool guy.”

“Right back at you … buddy,” Derek replied, punching Stiles on the arm like he was his fucking _bro_. Stiles was not his bro, nor did Derek want him to be his bro.

“Have a good night, Der,” Stiles said softly. He turned and walked back to Scott’s car. Derek closed the front door behind him but didn’t move until he Scott had driven far enough down the road that he couldn’t hear him anymore. He rushed up the stairs as quietly as he could and ran into Cora’s room.

“Fuck off, Derek,” Cora groaned after he shook her awake.

“I have a crisis,” Derek whined, yanking the pillow from under her head and pressing his face into it.

“You better be fucking dying,” Cora sighed, but turned on her lamp and sat up.

“Stiles kissed me during a party game but when he dropped me off I punched his arm and called him buddy. _Buddy._ I’m a fucking idiot.”

“You _didn’t_ , did you? But wait, he kissed you? That’s so good, Der,” Cora smiled. She threw her arms around him and squealed.

“It was during a game, it wasn’t an actual kiss. That would be a cause for celebration, not for the crisis I am now having.”

“Ah, I see your point. Well, at least it’s something.”

“Before I didn’t know what I was missing out on. Now I have to _pine_.”

“You were already pining, Der.”

“But it was _uninformed_ pining,” Derek flopped backwards onto the floor and stared up at Cora’s ceiling. The glow in the dark stars she’d put up there as a kid had left faint marks that were visible.

“Alright, if you insist, I’ll help you,” Cora said. Her smile was terrifying in the low light.

“I don’t want your help. Your help is never helpful. Remember how Mom now hates Stiles because of your ‘help’?”

“Trust me, it’ll be worth it.”

“It won’t,” Derek declared. Cora just smirked and snatched her pillow back, shoving it under her head and flicking off the light.

“Leave me in peace and go dream about your boy. It’ll all work out.”

Derek seriously doubted that. It had taken years for him and Stiles to even progress to hanging out. At that rate he would be finished college by the time they went on a date.

 

***

 

Derek was wrong. When he and Cora walked into the hallway the next Monday he was accosted by Isaac who shoved a handful of roses at him.

“Oh thank god, I’ve been standing here for like 15 minutes and I’m pretty sure my foot’s fallen asleep,” he cried as soon as Derek walked into his line of sight.

“Um,” Derek replied. The roses were gorgeous and really fragrant. He lifted them to his face and smelt them. He’d never gotten flowers before but he was pretty sure that was what he was meant to do.

“What—“ Cora started to say, but was cut off by a song which started to play at full volume through the hallway. It was ‘Somebody to Love’. Derek just stared at Isaac.

“Uh, did you…” he trailed off.

“Oh fuck no,” Isaac yelled over the music. “This mating ritual is a very special kind of weird and I’m sure you can guess who thought it up.”

“Oh _no_ ,” Cora screamed gleefully as Stiles rounded the corner with a fucking rose between his lips, dancing badly to the music. Derek just stared at him with wide eyes. As Stiles began to sing along with the – frankly much better – voices of Queen, Derek began to question the entirety of the end of Saturday night. Stiles had made it seem like he wasn’t at all bothered about their kiss, and that it hadn’t mattered in the slightest. Maybe it had been a front? Derek hoped so.

Derek burst into laughter as Stiles began to gyrate his hips to the beat, his expression turning dramatic every time the music crested. After the chorus ended the music faded away and the students gathered in the hallway clapped as Stiles took a dramatic bow. He walked over to Derek and handed him the rose he’d been dancing with.

“So, um.” Derek had no idea what to say. He was probably supposed to kiss Stiles but he still wasn’t entirely sure he was serious.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t aiming for it to be that dramatic,” Stiles joked. He flicked the bunch of roses in Derek’s hands. “Feel free to give those to your friends or whatever. Or make some guy’s day,” he said with a grin.

Derek opened his mouth to tell Stiles he was glad Stiles hadn’t listened to him when he’d said no to overthink what had happened at the party, and that he’d been wanting it for a while, but Stiles started speaking again.

“So sorry if this is kind of weird after Saturday, I promise I’d had this planned for like a week beforehand. Thought I’d throw people a bone since our whole year seems to think we’re some kind of A-list power couple,” Stiles joked.

Derek felt his heart sink.

“Nope, totally not weird. Slightly embarrassing but I appreciate the humor,” Derek said. He tried to hide the disappointment in his voice.

“I knew you would,” Stiles replied. His smile was blinding. Derek needed to get away.

 

***

 

“So are you and Hale dating now?” Jackson asked at lunch. The way he bit down on the apple in his hand was a mix of fascinating and slightly infuriating, and Stiles was incredibly confused by it.

“Why do you eat apples that way?” he asked, still staring at it.

“Don’t change the subject,” Jackson retorted.

“We’re happy for you,” Danny said.

“Thought you’d never grow the balls to do it,” Lydia said sweetly.

“We’re not dating,” Stiles said. “It was a joke since everyone always talks about us being a thing. Derek thought it was funny.”

“There’s no way he actually thought it was funny,” Jackson immediately replied.

“Stiles, _are you serious_?” Lydia cried. Danny just shook his head from side to side.

“Look, if this is about Saturday we already talked—“

“It’s about the past three years,” Lydia said, deadpan. “I’m not even on the lacrosse team and I know how gone he is on you.”

Stiles sighed. “You guys clearly don’t understand. We’re like friends now or something. As much as you guys seem to want us to be the school’s beloved gay couple, we’re not. And neither of us want to be.”

“Not true,” Lydia shot back.

“Don’t lead him on, Stiles. It’s not attractive,” Danny said.

“Nobody’s leading anybody on,” Stiles replied, frowning into his lunch.

 

***

 

“Dude, am I leading you on?”

Derek jumped a few feet into the air when Stiles materialized next to his locker at the end of the day.

“Uh no?” Derek replied. He had no idea what Stiles was talking about.

“Oh thank god. Because some of the guys were saying shit and I told them they didn’t understand so I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

Derek just smiled weakly. He’d rather have Stiles as a friend than have him run for the hills because he knew Derek was interested.

Thankfully Stiles avoided any more public displays of fake affection, because Derek didn’t think he could take it. He also didn’t think Cora could take it. When she found out he’d once again assured Stiles that there was nothing between them she’d hit Derek over the head with her backpack.

“ _Why_ do you do this?” she cried.

“ _Ow_ ,” Derek yelled as her metal water bottle collided with his head. “Cora _stop_.”

“Maybe I should. I’m not sure you could stand to lose any brain cells since apparently you’re all out of those anyway.”

“Real funny. It’s best for everyone if he doesn’t know I like him.”

“You’re an idiot. You’re both idiots. We’re going to need some divine intervention for this not to end in me killing someone.”

 

***

 

Divine intervention turned out to be a mix of Cora, Erica, Lydia, and Stiles himself.

One of the events the school set up for Love Week was an anonymous dating competition for charity. The top players from the school’s sports teams were always the lucky bachelors and bachelorettes who had to compete, and since freshman year Stiles had been one of them. Students submitted a short questionnaire about themselves for either a specific player or one at random, and the school councilor would pick the best match for each player. Everyone loved it because the competition was hosted during class times, so everyone got an extra free period.

For obvious reasons, Derek wasn’t exactly jumping for joy at attending the ceremony that year.

“Look, I don’t want to see Stiles get paired up with someone right in front of me. How is that unreasonable?” Derek cried. Cora and Erica both had a hold of one of his arms each and had tugged him to the top row of the bleachers and wouldn’t let him leave.

“Honey, at this point you need to lie in the bed you’ve made,” Erica said in a faux sympathetic voice, patting his arm.

“If you’d just admitted your ridiculous crush he would have pulled out of the competition,” Cora interjected.

Derek just rolled his eyes.

Principal Martin walked forward to tap the microphone and smiled at the crowd of students. “Thanks so much to everyone who participated in this year’s Match Up, and a special thanks to Mama’s Pizzeria for generously offering up their tables to our matched pairs for tomorrow night. Now, if we could please have our bachelors and bachelorettes line up behind me and we’ll get started.”

A handful of the school’s finest players walked up to stand behind Principal Martin to a chorus of whistles and jeers. Some looked uncomfortable, while others like Stiles and Danny made gestures to joke with the crowd.

The Principal introduced each player, reading out their sport of choice and listing their achievements of the year so far, which Derek found quite redundant. People were supposed to apply because they were interested in the players as people, not as a list of sporting achievements.

“As most of you will be familiar with by now, the way this works is we give each bachelor or bachelorette the profiles of the top three candidates who our lovely guidance counselor, Ms. Morrell, matched by compatibility of answers. These profiles won’t be labelled by name, but we’ll reveal who was behind the winning profiles right here. Hopefully we’ll have some great matches this year,” Principal Martin said, smiling at the crowd. The players stepped up to the podium alphabetically, and were each handed three slips of paper containing the bare bones of the anonymous profiles. In the interest of saving time they were given dot points containing the important information of each profile, and had to read them into the microphone for the crowd to hear.

“If I was a guy I would so have submitted a profile for Danny,” Erica muttered as Danny picked the winning profile out of his three. He smiled kindly at the freshman boy who waved eagerly at him from the front row.

Cora shushed her as Stiles stepped up to the podium and pull the slips of paper from the envelope with his name on it. He grinned cheekily at the stands. Derek stared at his feet. He had absolutely zero interest in who Stiles picked. It felt like a kick in the face and he had no idea why Cora and Erica were subjecting him to it.

“What’s your decision?” Principal Martin asked Stiles as her eyes scanned over the classified list of who each profiled belonged to.

“I’m going to go with option B,” Stiles declared, handing the papers over.

“Option B…” Principal Martin paused for a moment to scan the list. “That would be Derek Hale of the senior class.”

Stiles stopped short and widened his eyes. Derek choked on his breath of air. The sound of the students clapping politely couldn’t drown out Jackson’s laughter, who was doubled over at the end of the line of players. Derek groaned and his face in Erica’s shoulder, who he could feel was waving her arms above her head. One of the lacrosse players screamed “yeah, get it, Hale” and a few of the others joined in.

“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Derek groaned. He directed the comment towards Cora, since there was no way she wasn’t behind this.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she replied sweetly.

“I hope you’re happy that you’ve conned Stiles out of a date of his choice by rigging the competition. The charities would be ashamed of you.”

“I didn’t rig shit,” she snorted. “I will admit that Erica and I submitted your profile after running its contents past Lydia Martin, but we didn’t rig anything. Ms. Morrell decided you were compatible, and apparently Stiles fucking agrees with her.”

“I can’t believe you guys,” Derek groaned into Erica’s shoulder again. Erica stroked his hair.

“You would never have done it yourself,” she said.

“You’ll thank us at your wedding,” Cora replied.

 

***

 

“He’s not going.”

“I feel like this is déjà vu.”

“Well my final answer isn’t: he’s not going.”

“Mom, stop.”

“It’s final, Cora.”

Derek chewed his mouthful of dinner with more force than necessary. Cora had revealed her master plan of having gotten Derek a proper date with Stiles through having him select Derek via an anonymous compatibility competition, and their mother was even less thrilled than she had been the week before.

“He went on a date with this boy last week and this week he’s – what – turning Derek’s affections into a public joke? He’s not going,” their mother declared. “I had to leave work to collect Derek from school because he was so embarrassed today, and you have nobody to blame but yourself, Cora.”

“He just needed a push,” Cora cried. “Derek wants this, he just hasn’t actually said it to Stiles. And yes, Stiles pulled a dick move with the serenade thing, but he said he’d planned it beforehand.”

“Oh good, so he’s been planning on publically humiliating Derek for an extended period of time.”

“ _Mom_.”

“I think I’ll eat the rest of this in my room,” Derek muttered, grabbing his plate and carrying it up the stairs. He sat down on his bed and stabbed a forkful of peas. After a moment he pulled out his phone to scroll through Facebook while he ate. He nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone pinged loudly to signal an incoming message, and he threw his phone across the room when he read who it was from. After a moment of staring angrily at the ceiling and cursing his sister under his breath he retrieved his phone from the floor and opened the message.

_Stiles Stilinski, 6:08pm: Hey, Derek_

_Stiles Stilinski, 6:08pm: so I’m going to assume you applied seriously and do actually want me to take you out_

_Stiles Stilinski, 6:09pm: unless this was payback for the Queen serenade_

_Derek Hale, 6:10pm: Cora applied for me actually. I didn’t know._

_Stiles Stilinski, 6:10pm: ah_

_Derek Hale, 6:12pm: but I do want you to_

_Stiles Stilinski, 6:13pm: you won’t deny me the pleasure of your company ;)_

_Derek Hale, 6:14pm: something like that_

_Stiles Stilinski, 6:14pm: it’s a date then_

_Stiles Stilinski, 6:14pm: chauffer Stilinski will pick you up at 7 tomorrow to take you out for the best pizza BHHS can buy_

_Derek Hale, 6:16pm: my hero ;)_

 

***

 

“You’re excited, I can see it. You’re dying from excitement.”

“Cora, if I’m dying from anything it’s nerves because you’ve set me up on an actual date with a guy I’ve informed multiple times that I don’t have feelings for. To his face. There’s no way this ends well.” Derek rolled the sleeves of his dress shirt up before pulling them down again and smoothing them out. He took a deep breath and nodded at himself in the mirror. It wasn’t exactly a pep talk but it would have to do.

“Well I disagree. My intuition is telling me this is going to end spectacularly,” Cora exclaimed. “And push your sleeves back up. Maybe he likes forearms.”

Derek snorted, but complied. His forearms were a little hairy, but maybe Stiles liked that. Stiles’ chest was pretty hairless though, so maybe he waxed. Hopefully he didn’t prefer hairless guys because he wasn’t sure if Stiles was worth a full body wax.

“Do you think I should wax my arms?” Derek pondered as he stared at himself in the mirror.

“Fucking _what_?” Cora cried. “Honestly, you say the weirdest shit sometimes. Look, Stiles is like the definition of twink. You should open up a copy of the Oxford Dictionary and see a picture of him there. You’re like the step up from that, which I have no idea what it’s called but you probably should so you can sell yourself. He’ll love it.”

“So that’s a no on the waxing?”

“Definitely not.”

Derek’s phone sounded with a text notification and he grabbed for it, just beating Cora to it.

_Stiles Stilinski, 6:57pm: I’m outside_

“I’ll distract Mom,” Cora declared. Derek had warned Stiles not to come to the door since they were technically sneaking Derek out to go on the date. Cora stomped loudly down the stairs to cover up Derek’s light footsteps. She grabbed onto his arm as they were about to step off the stairs and whispered into Derek’s ear. “Promise me you’ll at least tell him you think he’s hot tonight. Make literally _any_ progress. Any at all.”

“I will,” Derek whispered back.

Cora rushed into the kitchen and started loudly engaging their Mom in conversation, detailing some nonexistent group assignment that she was having trouble with. Derek crept out the front door and shut it quietly behind him. He crouched down to run under the kitchen window without being seen and jogged down the road that cut through the woods to their house, where he had told Stiles to park so his parents wouldn’t hear or see the Jeep. It wasn’t exactly the world’s most subtle vehicle.

“Sorry about the undercover mission,” Derek apologized when he got in the car.

“No worries. I’ve done my fair share of sneaking out. Not as easy when all the deputies in town know you by sight, mind you,” Stiles replied.

The ride to the pizzeria was far less awkward then Derek had feared it would be. It was almost like it was the first time he and Stiles were interacting and they were both really putting in the effort, and they were clicking. Stiles was a constant stream of jokes which made Derek double over with laughter. The smile that covered Stiles’ face whenever Derek laughed at his jokes was something Derek wanted to see every day. He’d probably be having dreams about Stiles’ smile for the next few weeks.

“Now I know this place is a little better than the last one I took you but it’s still not on my dime, so you’ll have to let me take you out for ice cream after or something,” Stiles explained as they were lead to their table inside the pizzeria. Most of the tables were occupied by the winners of the Match Up competition, with some of the pairings being really surprising. Danny and his freshman date looked to be having a good time, and they waved to Stiles and Derek from across the room.

“The difference this time is that we’re actually calling this one a date,” Derek joked. “I wasn’t even sure if that’s what the last one was.”

“Oh thank god, because I didn’t either,” Stiles exclaimed as he laughed. “I called Scott in a panic beforehand because I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to bring you flowers.”

“And then you went and did it anyway at school.”

“Hey, don’t hold that against me,” Stiles teased. “That was extremely cool.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” Derek smiled, patting Stiles on the shoulder.

They ordered a pepperoni pizza to share when the waitress came around, but no wine, though not for lack of trying on Stiles’ part.

“Stiles, my father works with yours. I know full well you’re still in high school. Not to mention you’re literally here for an event organized by the high school.”

“Oh come on, Rachel, please,” Stiles cried, giving his best sad eyes to the pretty brunette waitress.

“Not a chance,” she replied. “You can each have a Coke.”

Derek burst out laughing at Stiles’ over exaggerated pout. “Well you’re nothing if not persistent.”

“You know it.” Stiles shot him a grin. “Hey, thanks for honoring this whole thing. It would have been super embarrassing to not have shown up because you’d backed out or to have to pick another person. The team would have never let me live it down.”

“It’s not exactly a hardship,” Derek replied. “Cora says the system wasn’t rigged, but I find that hard to believe.”

“Was the profile fake?” Stiles asked.

“To be honest I wasn’t even listening when you read it out.”

“Is your favourite book really _Lolita_ and your ideal date idea a night watching Marvel movies?”

“I’m not denying there’s at least some truth to the profile.”

“Alright, if someone asked you what you ideal quality in a partner was what you say?” Stiles was staring at Derek intently. It was actually quite nerve-wracking.

“Either loyalty or humor, I couldn’t really pick between them.”

“That’s what your profile said. If you could have a conversation with anyone still alive, who would it be?”

“The whole production team from _Heroes_ to ask how they managed to fuck it up so badly.”

“Ding ding, once again that’s the answer that was there. What’s the physical feature you most admire about the person you’re applying for a date with?”

“Uh, can I pass?” Derek asked. He felt like he’d just survived the Inquisition.

“Nope.”

“I guess your eyes. You have really big eyes, and they’re an incredible color. Also your moles, they really draw the eye. And I’d kill for your nose.” Derek stopped short and widened his eyes. “Let’s forget I said any of that.”

“Not a chance,” Stiles replied. His cheeks were tinged red.

“What was the answer Cora put down?”

“That wasn’t a question they asked, I just wanted to know your answer,” Stiles replied.

“You’re evil,” Derek shot back.

“Hey, at least I know you think I’m cute as fuck now,” Stiles joked. “Unless you were just gunning for a really expensive ice cream after this is over.”

Fuck it, Derek thought. He had nothing to lose at that point. Either he went for it like Cora said or he’d have wasted the opportunity he’d managed to snag.

“If you’d asked I would’ve told you I thought you were hot. It’s not a secret.”

Stiles choked on his drink of water and stared at Derek. “Seriously? I thought everyone was joking.”

“Nope.”

“Well shit,” Stiles muttered. “If it’s any consolation I think you’re really hot. Your face is like a work of art.” They both paused for a moment and stared at each other across the table before Stiles burst out laughing. “Shit, I would have come on to you ages ago if I thought you were actually interested.”

“It’s not too late,” Derek replied. He had no idea where the sudden surge of courage had come from but he was extremely appreciative of it.

“I hope not,” Stiles said after he’d composed himself. He winked at Derek and hollowed out his cheeks as he sucked on his straw. Derek wiggled his eyebrows at him in reply.

The rest of the dinner passed with a minimal amount of innuendos, though Stiles couldn’t hold himself back from making at least a few.

“Still want that ice cream?” Stiles asked as they left the restaurant after having shared a full size pizza and two loaves of garlic bread.

Derek decided to go full out. “Among other things,” he replied, staring at Stiles’ mouth. He heard the breath catch in Stiles’ throat.

“Oh fuck,” Stiles groaned, but didn’t push Derek up against the side of the Jeep like he had been hoping. Instead Stiles jumped into his seat and cranked the ignition, driving them at far higher than the speed limit to the ice cream parlor a few streets away. When they parked Stiles’ opened the trunk like he had done when they’d picked up food after the lacrosse dinner, and gestured for Derek to sit.

“What did you want?” Stiles asked, hopping from foot to foot.

“Something with strawberry,” Derek replied, lying back. He knew the positon would cause his shirt to ride up slightly, and judging by the sound of Stiles tripping over his own feet, it had garnered the reaction he’d been hoping for.

“Not feeling very vanilla tonight?” Stiles joked.

“Why don’t you hurry up and get the ice cream and then you can find out,” Derek teased, pushing himself up onto his forearms.

“Absolutely. Yep. Doing that,” Stiles cried. He turned tail and jogged towards the doors, whipping his wallet out as he went.

Derek smirked to himself as he watched Stiles through the window. As Derek watched, Stiles visibly composed himself, shaking out his arms and nodding his head before straightening his back and plastering a smile on his face. It both calmed and excited Derek to know that Stiles was equally flustered by the sudden change in their dynamic. Before leaving the house Derek would have put money on the night ending with him and Cora splitting a tub of Ben and Jerry’s and watching Netflix in one of their bedrooms, but now it seemed like Derek might actually achieve what everyone already assumed was going on. It was one thing to have half of their year level joke about them getting it on, but _actually_ doing it was so farfetched that Derek would have had trouble picturing it. If he hadn’t been regularly jerking off to the thought of Stiles’ stomach muscles for the last two weeks, that was.

“I got you strawberries and cream,” Stiles announced as he let the door to the store swing shut behind him. “It was either that or dark cherry.”

“This is good, thanks,” Derek smiled. He gave the ice cream what he hoped was a seductive lick, before immediately abandoning the idea after realizing it was actually really good. “Oh my god,” Derek moaned, practically attacking the ice cream with his mouth. “This is so good.”

“Did you and the dessert want some privacy?” Stiles joked. Derek glanced up to see Stiles’ eyes locked on his mouth.

“Can I try some of yours?” Derek asked, eyeing up Stiles’ mint flavored cone. Stiles nodded and held it out towards Derek, obviously expecting him to take it. Instead Derek leaned forward and wrapped his lips around the top of the ice cream.

“You’ve got some on the bottom of your lip,” Stiles said, still staring at Derek’s mouth after he’d pulled back and licked what he thought was all of the ice cream off his lips. Derek wiped his bottom lip with the back of his hand, missing the ice cream altogether. “Oh, fuck it,” Stiles muttered, and leaned in to press their lips together. He slotted Derek’s bottom lip between his own and sucked it gently into his mouth, licking the ice cream off. Derek immediately kissed back, pressing his chest against Stiles’ and pressing his free hand into the small of Stiles’ back. They only pulled back from each other when their ice creams started to melt and dripped down the cones onto their fingers.

“Oops,” Stiles grinned. He grabbed Derek’s hand and sucked two of his fingers into his mouth, licking the stickiness off. Derek stared at him wide-eyed. He could feel himself hardening in his pants. “So,” Stiles said, licking the ice cream off his own fingers. “I’m pretty sure I know what your answer will be considering the poorly disguised innuendoes that have been made all night, but I’ll ask anyway: did you want to go somewhere? I get it if you think it’s too soon—“

“Sounds great,” Derek replied. There was no way in hell he was passing up the opportunity to sleep with Stiles.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Stiles said. He tossed their napkins in the trash and gestured for Derek to climb into the passenger seat. Derek fiddled with the radio as Stiles drove. He debated messaging Cora to ask her what kind of song he should play as mood music while he lost his virginity, but decided against it. The sheer embarrassment would be too much. No way was he letting her have that question on record until the end of time. Screenshots were forever.

~

Stiles had no idea where he was going. A couple of places flicked through his mind, and all were ruled out immediately. The most obvious choice of locale was the lookout above Beacon Hills, but he decided against it because it was always crawling with deputies, for obvious reasons. The second place he considered was the small reserve behind the shopping complex which shut hours ago, but there might be cameras or security guards there at the later hour. He decided to drive into the preserve near Derek’s house and hope Derek’s parents didn’t have some sixth sense for horny teenagers being near their property. Particularly when half of the said horny duo was their son.

“Oh, turn here,” Derek cried, pointing at what looked like a hiking trail that was just big enough for the Jeep. “There’s a clearing at the end that nobody ever uses. Shouldn’t be any campers out there at this time of year.” Stiles complied and silently thanked the gods that the Jeep was an off road vehicle. He’d have been fucked if his dad had bought him a run of the mill Suzuki hatchback instead like he had considered.

Eventually the trail widened into a small clearing that was kept dark thanks to the tall trees bordering it. Stiles could hear a small stream nearby after turning off the engine, the faint sounds of night insects the only other noise to cut through the silence.

“So, what did you—“ Stiles was cut off by Derek who had managed to unbuckle his seatbelt without Stiles noticing, and was half out of his seat, leaning over to press his lips to Stiles. Stiles moaned and fumbled with his own seatbelt, pulling back for a moment to untangle himself from it before leaning over the gearshift to meet Derek in the middle. He slid his hand into Derek’s hair and pressed forward more firmly, deepening the kiss. Derek matched Stiles’ pressure by pulling him in with a hand on the back of the neck and slipping his tongue into Stiles’ mouth. After a few minutes Stiles disconnected their mouths, both panting hard. He cocked his head towards the backset and raised an eyebrow in question.

“Oh fuck yes,” Derek groaned. Stiles climbed over the gearshift and dropped onto the backset, stretching out as far as he could in the tight space. Derek followed suit, and dropped heavily onto Stiles after tripping over the handbrake.

“Smooth,” Stiles teased, opening his legs for Derek to fit more comfortably between.

“Shut up,” Derek growled and sealed their lips together again. The kiss immediately turned dirty, with Stiles slipping his tongue into Derek’s mouth and Derek sucking Stiles’ bottom lip in between his own. Stiles shifted his hips to try and get more comfortable, and accidentally pressed up against Derek, who was very obviously hard in his own pants. Stiles pulled Derek down sharply so that his full weight was now resting on Stiles, their clothed erections pressing against each other. Stiles moaned as Derek ground down into him, throwing his head back and exposing his throat. Derek immediately pressed sloppy kisses to Stiles’ throat, moving his lips in a rhythm that drove Stiles crazy.

“Holy shit, I need—“ Stiles cut himself off with a moan. Derek reached down and fumbled with the zipper on Stiles’ pants, dragging it down and reaching inside his boxer briefs to grab a hold of his hard cock.

“Is this ok?” Derek gasped, pumping his hand up and down Stiles’ length.

“So ok. Ok doesn’t even cover it. I’ll need a new word in my vocabulary to describe how more than ok it is,” Stiles gasped. He fucked his hips up into Derek’s hand, watching as the head of his cock moved through the circle of Derek’s fist.

“You need better dirty talk,” Derek joked. He reached down to pull his own cock out and wrapped his hands around them both.

“Would you prefer that I tell you I want your dick so far down my throat that I can’t breathe? Or that thinking about you riding my face right here is getting me turned on enough to cum?” Stiles retort was interspersed by moans each time Derek twisted his fist slightly around the head of Stiles’ cock.

“Much better,” Derek replied. Stiles knocked Derek’s hands out of the way and licked his palm, grabbing a hold of Derek’s cock. Derek resumed his movements on Stiles’ length and braced a hand on the roof of the Jeep, jerking his hips forward when Stiles reached down to fondle his balls.

“Hold on, let me take my shirt off,” Stiles said after a moment. “I’m close and I don’t want to get cum on it.” Derek nodded and released Stiles’ cock from his fist. He pulled his own shirt over his head and Stiles let out a whistle of approval. “Are you _serious_?” Stiles cried. “That’s what you’re hiding under those Henley’s? Shit, you really should have tried out for the team.”

“Lacrosse isn’t really my thing,” Derek replied.

“Oh, fuck off,” Stiles laughed. He paused for a moment to work his eyes over Derek’s naked torso. The guy was absolutely ripped. He’d been expecting a bit of a dad-bod to be honest. Not that he would have really cared, but to see the naked torso of a male model revealed was a ridiculously pleasant surprise.

Derek leaned down to kiss Stiles again, grabbing a hold of his cock and jerking him quickly. Stiles followed suit. He reached into the back of Derek’s jeans to press a spit-slick finger against his hole. It was met with a loud moan from Derek, who pushed back onto it. As soon as the tip of Stiles’ finger breached his hole, Derek was biting down on Stiles’ shoulder to suppress the sounds of his orgasm, ropes of cum landing on Stiles’ chest.

“Oh _fuck_ ,” Stiles moaned and dropped his hand to squeeze his balls as Derek twisted his hand around the head of Stiles’ length. He only needed to thrust his hips up into Derek’s fist a few more times before he was coming all over his and Derek’s chests.

They lay there panting for a few moments before Derek pushed his weight off of Stiles with trembling arms, reaching into the front seat to look for tissues in the glove compartment.

“Thanks,” Stiles said with a grin when Derek handed him a wad of tissues, as he wiped off his own chest.

“Good thing we took those shirts off,” Derek joked. They slipped their shirts back on and climbed into the front seat on slightly wobbly legs. Stiles burst out laughing when he saw the fogged up windows of the Jeep.

“We’re officially so cliché,” he cried.

“Hey, at least we didn’t do this at make out point,” Derek replied.

“You’re not wrong there.”

Stiles drove Derek home and parked a ways down the road, just like when he’d picked him up. It felt like a lifetime ago.

“Thanks for this,” Derek said after Stiles slowed the Jeep to a stop. “I had a really good time.”

“Yeah, me too. We should do it again sometime. Especially the last bit,” Stiles said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“No issues there,” Derek replied.

“See you at school,” Stiles called with a wave. Derek waved back and turned to walk down the road to his house, the trees blocking out most of the light.

Once the sound of Stiles’ Jeep had disappeared down the road Derek let himself celebrate. He jumped up and down on the spot and fist pumped the air, letting out a quiet whoop. He tiptoed into the house with a smile the size of Jupiter on his face. He had only been in his room for a few seconds before Cora burst in, her eyes wide.

“What happened, tell me everything,” she demanded. Time seemed to stop for a moment. Derek opened his mouth to spill all the juicy details, but stopped himself short. Cora would be absolutely insufferable if she knew how the date had ended up. Derek would never hear the end of it. He’d still be getting told how right she was when he was fifty.

“Nothing crazy,” Derek said slowly.

“Come on, give me more than that.”

“We talked about lacrosse, I apologized for your ridiculousness, we went and got ice cream and he drove me home. Nothing crazy.”

“Did you at least confess to your crush?” Cora cried.

“I’d like to preface my answer by saying that you’re far too invested in this, but I told me he was hot.”

“ _And_? What happened?” she yelled. Derek shushed her, not wanting their mother to wake up and walk in on Derek who had clearly just gotten home. He was still wearing his jacket and hadn’t taken his shoes off yet. That certainly wouldn’t end well.

“Nothing. We decided we’d be pretty good friends. He asked me to hang out sometime.”

Cora’s face went through a range of emotions before settling on slightly confused.

“Honestly, that’s not a bad outcome. I still don’t think you’re telling me everything though.”

“Why would I lie?” Derek asked in what he hoped was an innocent tone of voice.

“Don’t make me answer that,” Cora snorted. “In any case, I’m happy for you. Your crush was edging into stalker territory so transitioning to friends is a decent outcome. Well done, Der.”

Derek smirked. Well done indeed.

 

***

It was weird seeing Derek in the halls that week and thinking _I know what you look like when you cum_. The amount of times Stiles pictured Derek shirtless and moaning during the day now was verging on unhealthy. He’d never hear the end of it if his friends found out. Speaking of, Stiles’ friends had accosted him as soon as he’d walked into the cafeteria the next day, clamoring for information about his date with Derek. Stiles decided that he should probably join the school’s drama club, because his acting and improvisation skills were on point, in his opinion. He’d brushed them off and fed them stories about how he and Derek had hashed out their mutual appreciation for each other’s looks, and had decided they’d be good friends. As expected, everyone was less than pleased, but Stiles hadn’t wanted Derek to incur any more teasing than he already received. Not when he wasn’t sure what they were, or if there was even a ‘them’ to talk about.

He was glad to see Derek at the practice at the end of the day. He hadn’t been lying when he’d said they’d probably be good friends, and so far their main connection had been lacrosse. Stiles didn’t want to lose that when he and Derek weren’t really anything else yet.

“Hey, I’ve barely seen you all day,” Stiles said when he jogged over to Derek during a break in practice. “I thought you might not come today.”

“Did you not want me to?” Derek asked. He looked almost _scared_. “I can leave if you like?”

“No, no,” Stiles cried. He put his hands on Derek’s shoulders and held him to the bench. “Don’t go. You know I like you being here.”

“I wasn’t sure…” Derek trailed off.

“Hey,” Stiles said softly. “Not that much has changed. We don’t have to completely redo whatever we’ve always been, we can just add to it. Sound good?”

Derek smiled and nodded.

“Stilinski,” Finstock bellowed from down on the field. “Make out with your boyfriend on your own time, we’ve got drills to run.”

“Coming, Coach,” Stiles called back, rolling his eyes. “We should probably lay low so you don’t get shit like that from everyone else as well.” He directed the last bit towards Derek, who nodded in affirmation.

“That’s fine,” he replied. Stiles clapped him on the shoulder and jogged back out to the field.

~

Derek’s head wasn’t really in it for the rest of practice. While he would usually be taking notes on Stiles’ form or movements, he found himself zoning out. As he shook himself back into reality for the fourth time that practice, his eyes locked onto Stiles on the field.

“Oh my god,” Derek said under his breath as he stared down at the players. Stiles’ shirt was lying on the ground, and he’d tipped his entire water bottle down his front to cool down. Even from the top row of the stands Derek could clearly see the trails of water when the sunlight caught them, running between his stomach muscles which were glistening with sweat. He wasn’t proud of the fact that his mouth started watering. Derek was shaken out of his trance by the loud buzzing sound of his phone. He pulled it from his pocket and frowned when he noticed it was Cora. She never called him during practices.

“Hey,” he said. “Make it quick, there’s important things happening on the field right now. Super important things.”

“Derek, there’s been an emergency,” Cora shrieked. Derek shot up straight and gripped the phone tightly. He could hear a shrill wailing sound in the background of Cora’s end and he was genuinely concerned. Until Cora opened her mouth again, that was. “Amanda’s boyfriend dumped her for some bitch that goes to Davenport and she’s a mess – sorry honey, you’re not a mess – and we’re taking her for some much needed retail therapy. You’ll have to get Mom to pick you up. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Derek sighed. “I’ll work it out.”

“Maybe you could get your new BFF to drive you home. You know, since you’re the biggest buddies to ever buddy now.”

“Cut the sarcasm,” Derek replied. “I’ll figure something out. Have fun with your friends.”

“Thanks, Der. Love you,” Cora cried, before hanging up the call. Derek sighed. There was no fucking way he was calling his Mom to pick him up from lacrosse practice. Not when she was still so anti-Stiles, anyway. In fact, she thought he was doing study club instead of going to lacrosse now, or whatever other bullshit excuse he and Cora had come up with on the fly at dinner a few days beforehand.

The answer was obvious, but he didn’t want to acknowledge it. He’d either have to walk home or ask Stiles to drive him. There were a number of issues with that plan of action. He didn’t want Stiles to think he was taking advantage of him now, or think he was too clingy or something. After all, it had only been a few days since the dinner and he and Stiles hadn’t talked about what they were to each other yet. Besides swearing to secrecy, that was. Derek knew it was partially his fault. If he’d told Cora after he’d gotten home the whole school would have known by the beginning of the next day, and there’d be no chance of hiding it. Derek still wasn’t sure if he even wanted to hide it. He should probably add a few hours of deep soul-searching to the agenda, as well as a ‘define the relationship’ talk with Stiles.

The decision about how to get home was essentially made for him when Stiles approached him again at the end of practice. His hair was damp from the shower and he looked incredibly _soft_. It made Derek’s heart hurt.

“Where’s Cora? I didn’t see her today,” Stiles asked.

“She had an emergency that was completely not an emergency and took the car with her. Something about crying friends and retail therapy.”

“Did you need a ride?” Stiles asked.

Derek would never admit it – even under pain of death – but his brain went haywire. Of course he needed a ride, but was he supposed to say no? Was Stiles only offering to be polite, or did he actually not mind? Would Derek be ruder if he said yes and made Stiles go completely out of his way for no reason, or would he take offense if Derek turned down his offer? Was he supposed to pay him back in sexual favors? Would that have even crossed Stiles’ mind? Was Derek a shitty person because it crossed _his_?

“Dude, I can practically see the wheels turning in your head,” Stiles joked. “Look, we can go back to mine and hang out and watch a movie or something if you’re free? I’d take you home after.”

Derek nodded enthusiastically. “I get to pick the movie, though.”

“Sold,” Stiles declared. He hitched his bag up higher on his shoulder and flicked his still damp hair away from his eyes. “So how was today? Anything to add?”

“I’ll be honest, I’m a terrible coach today,” Derek admitted. “I got pretty distracted a couple of time there.”

“Staring at my rockin bod, I’m sure,” Stiles joked.

“I’m not sure if I should lie to save my dignity or not,” Derek replied.

Stiles’ eyes went wide and fumbled with his keys, dropping them on the ground.

“Wait, are you serious?”

“Is that really so hard to believe?” Derek asked. “You do remember what happened earlier this week, right? I didn’t dream that?”

“Definitely not. So what part of my sweaty, sweaty body did it for you? Was it the grass stained knees? Or the blood on my arm from Liam’s nose?”

“You literally took your shirt off and poured water on your body. It was like something out of one of my jerk off fantasies, though those usually end with less questions and more moaning.”

“Wait, jerk off fantasies?” Stiles asked gleefully. He took his hands off the wheel of the Jeep and rubbed them together.

“Please drive.”

“Oh _hell_ no. I need details.”

“You’re not getting details.”

“So it’s confirmed you told a big fat lie at the party when you said you’d jerked off to Danny?”

“I may have stretched the truth slightly.”

Stiles let out a whoop. Apparently the information made him proud, in some twisted way.

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” Derek stated, deadpan. Stiles waved him off as he pulled out of the school parking lot and onto the main road.

“It’s not every day you get such a juicy revelation handed to you on a platter.”

“Stiles, I literally had your dick in my hand a few days ago.”

“Semantics.”

“You came all over my bare chest. My attraction to your body should not be news to you.”

“Let me have my moment.”

Derek rolled his eyes but backed down.

“But seriously, no comments for today?” Stiles took his eyes off the road to watch Derek. His lips looked ridiculously full. Derek wanted to bite them.

“If I didn’t notice anything then you probably did great. Why the higher level of interest today?”

“Promise you won’t tell anyone?” Stiles asked, biting down on his lip.

Derek nodded. “I’d pinky swear with you but— Christ, Stiles, keep your hands on the wheel,” Derek yelled. Stiles had taken both hands off the wheel in favor of holding both pinky fingers out for Derek to wrap around his. Stiles pouted but resumed driving like a sane person.

“I’ve been looking into lacrosse scholarships for Berkeley, but everyone’s telling me it’s really competitive if you’re not a captain. Just nervous, is all.”

“But your grades are great,” Derek said reassuringly. “There’s no way you won’t get in based on academics. The lacrosse will look great as an extracurricular.”

“Yeah, but I don’t qualify for any other full scholarships offered, and I’m not sure I can make a partial one work. Money’s tight at the moment and my dad’s heart hasn’t been great recently so I don’t want to stress him out and … sorry for rambling, you don’t need to hear this,” Stiles apologized.

“Hey, no. I want to help. We’re friends now, yeah?” Derek asked.

Stiles shot him a brief smile. “Yeah.”

“Then that pretty much qualifies me to solve your problems. Or try to, at least.”

“You really don’t mind?” Stiles asked. He sounded so small and Derek wanted to hug him.

“Not at all.”

“Thanks. Really. I’d go to Scott but I don’t want him to think I’m blaming him or whatever. It’s just that a being the captain of a winning team would have pretty much guaranteed me a place at the top of the list for a lacrosse scholarship, but since I deferred that to him I don’t have that.”

“Why’d you do it, anyway?” Derek asked. He’d never gotten the full story because he hadn’t exactly been privy to Stiles’ secrets until recently.

“He really needed it,” Stiles replied. “I don’t want to sound like I’m bragging or whatever, but my grades are really good, and I’ve got decent list of extracurriculars. Scott doesn’t have that, and his Mom is in a worse place financially than my Dad. I figured he needed it more than me. Don’t get me wrong, he deserved the captaincy more than anyone else on that team, and he does a great job with it. It’d just be nice to have a sure thing. It’s selfish, I know.”

“It’s not,” Derek said softly. He hadn’t noticed they’d stopped until Stiles turned off the ignition. Derek reached out and rubbed his hand up and down Stiles’ arm. Stiles took a deep breath then turned and smiled at Derek.

“You’re a good guy,” he said. After a moment of silence where they sat and watched each other, Stiles jerked his thumb towards the house. “We should go get a movie started.”

Derek nodded and jumped out the car, debating leaving his bag inside before deciding against it.

“You didn’t have homework you needed to do, did you?” Stiles called from the kitchen once they’d walked inside.

“Nothing I can’t do later,” Derek replied, shutting the front door behind him.

“Any snack requests?” Stiles asked when Derek joined him in the kitchen. He had his head buried in a cupboard with his ass in the air.

“How mad would you be if I pushed you right now?” Derek asked, seriously debating it.

“Do it and there will be no popcorn,” Stiles cried out. “I have half a mind to make a bowl for myself and eat the whole thing in front of you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Derek said, narrowing his eyes at Stiles.

In response Stiles slowly walked towards Derek and pushed him into the wall with his body, slotting a leg between Derek’s.

“You have no idea what I would do,” he whispered into Derek’s ear before stepping back and rounding the counter to stand on the opposite side of the kitchen.

“What the fuck just happened?” Derek asked.

Stiles laughed. “I think we just established that you’re extremely easy to turn on.” He gestured towards Derek’s pants which we considerably tighter than they had been a few minutes ago.

“Stop stroking your ego and make the popcorn,” Derek replied.

“I’ll stroke something alright,” Stiles muttered, just loud enough for Derek to hear. His snort of laughter turned into a squeal when Stiles turned on the tap and flicked some water at him.

Though Stiles had previously declared that Derek could choose their movie, he was a dirty liar and had gone back on the decision with a vengeance.

“We’re watching _The Avengers_.”

“Stiles, I’ve seen that movie more times than I have fingers.”

“It’s a good movie.”

“I can also recite the lines in my sleep. We’re watching _Captain America_.”

“Why watch a movie with just Steve Rogers when you can watch one with him plus the rest of the gang? It’s science.”

“It’s not science.”

“It is.”

“You said I could pick the movie.”

“I lied.”

“I’m the guest. Guest chooses.”

“My house, my rules. I’m abolishing the guest rule.”

“You can’t do that, it’s practically the law.”

“I can assure you, it’s not. Son of the Sheriff, after all.”

“Well, buddy, let me tell you—“

Stiles rolled his eyes at Derek and rolled on top of him, pinning his hands down by his sides. He allowed Derek a moment before leaning down and licking into his mouth, all dirty with lips and tongue.

“So, _Avengers_?” he asked after a moment.

“You’re evil. Those are dirty tactics,” Derek frowned.

“I don’t hear no,” Stiles replied in a sing-song voice.

“I yield,” Derek sighed. He could only pretend to be frustrated for so long before the sight of Stiles’ glee pushed a smile onto his own face.

“Well at least I know your weak spot now,” Stiles teased as he pressed play on the movie.

The benefit of watching a movie Derek had seen more times than he could count, was that he could zone out for long periods of time and not miss a single detail. His version of zoning out was to watch Stiles. Even though Stiles had likely seen the movie the same amount of times as Derek, if not more, he was still completely enraptured with what was playing out on the screen. He mouthed along with the characters lines but still managed to look shocked or horrified at the right times, and laughed along with the jokes like it was the first time he’d heard them. Sitting there watching Stiles was the first time Derek had decided that he was actually _beautiful_. Not hot, or funny, or talented, but just plain gorgeous. Derek stood by what he’d said at the pizzeria about Stiles’ eyes and nose and moles, but he was adding more features to his list of appreciation as the minutes wore on. Every part of Stiles’ body deserved to be appreciated, because it was all equally beautiful.

Just as Derek was trying to decide what he liked more, the smattering of moles on Stiles’ upper arm or the few behind his ear, Stiles became aware of what Derek was actually paying attention to.

“Hate to break it to you, but I’m nowhere near as interesting as the dynamic between Tony Stark and Loki,” Stiles said. He tore his eyes away from the screen for a moment to give Derek a soft smile.

“Debatable,” Derek replied.

“What are you looking at, anyway?” Stiles asked, turning his attention back to the movie. “Do I have sauce on my cheek or something?”

“No, you’re just extremely attractive,” Derek quietly replied.

“If you want orgasms you don’t have to butter me up,” Stiles joked. He interrupted himself by laughing in reaction to a joke onscreen.

“I’m not,” Derek stated firmly. “Just appreciating the view.”

Stiles sat up and paused the movie. “Ok, shirts off,” he declared, pulling his over his head.

“Wait, what?” Derek asked. “Did I miss something?”

“You’re being weirdly sweet today, but I think you need to chillax. I’ll gladly offer my help.”

“I thought you wanted to watch the movie?” Derek asked, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

“It’s not going anywhere. The pause button is a magical invention.”

“Oh, uh, ok,” Derek said, whipping his shirt off. He usually felt like he was two steps behind Stiles, and today was no exception.

“You don’t have to, you know. You can say no. I won’t judge or anything,” Stiles said, his hands paused over Derek’s zipper.

“No complaints here,” Derek replied, lifting his hips up so Stiles could pull his khakis off.

“Good,” Stiles smiled, all teeth. “Because I’d really like to blow you.”

“Uh, yeah, be my guest. What a super idea.”

“A _super idea_?” Stiles snorted. “I haven’t even got my mouth on your cock yet and you’re already not making sense.”

“Your face is in direct proximity to my dick right now, cut me some slack,” Derek shot back. He threw one of his arms over his eyes and breathed deeply.

Stiles chuckled and patted his leg. “Lift up again, big guy.”

Derek complied. Now free from its cotton prison, his cock was rapidly gaining in size and hardness, swelling up as Stiles watched. Stiles dragged his fingers lightly up and down Derek’s leg, just watching but not yet touching.

“Please, Stiles,” Derek groaned when his fingers danced closer, but not close enough, to his cock.

“Alright,” Stiles conceded. He leant down and nipped at Derek’s inner thigh, causing him to jump slightly and sending his fully hard cock slapping against his stomach. “Spread ‘em.” Derek couldn’t hold back the whine that forced its way out of his throat at the feeling of Stiles’ hands helping pull his legs apart.

“What?” Derek asked after a moment of silence and lack of movement from Stiles. He dropped his arm onto the bed from where it had been covering his eyes, and levelled his gaze at Stiles. Stiles’ eyes were dark and he was biting his lip whilst palming himself in his jeans.

“Just not the reaction I was expecting,” he said after a moment.

“Look, we can talk all about how I’m probably going to be a huge slut for your cock later. Right now I would really love it if you could put your mouth on me, you god damn tease.”

Stiles smirked at him but took hold of his length at the base, giving it a few slow strokes.

“Any preferences or requests?” he asked. His mouth was maddeningly close to the head of Derek’s dick now, but still not touching it.

“Literally anything. Anything is good,” Derek replied.

“Roger that, captain,” Stiles joked before _finally_ getting to it.

“Oh _fuck_ ,” Derek cried as Stiles took in half his length straight away. He immediately went to town, taking Derek far enough down that he could feel the flutter of Stiles’ throat around the head of his cock, his hand working the rest of the length. He kept to a rhythm that was somehow too much and not enough at the same time. Derek now fully understood the term ‘sucking someone’s brain out through their dick’ because it was happening to him. Stiles quite literally had him by the balls.

Derek let out a loud moan when Stiles curled his tongue around the head on an upstroke, and he had to bite down on his hand to keep from immediately letting out another loud whine.

Stiles grabbed Derek’s other hand and placed it on the top of his head. Derek immediately wove his fingers through Stiles’ hair and gave an experimental tug. Stiles let out a muffled groan and sucked harder, so Derek did it again. Stiles lifted his hands from where they had been pressing Derek’s hips into the bed and allowed him more movement. He opened his eyes and looked up at Derek, cheeks hollowed out and mouth filled with as much of Derek’s cock as he could fit.

“Fuck, _Stiles,_ ” Derek cried, gripping onto Stiles’ hair and emptying into his mouth with a cry. He threw his head back and arched off the bed into Stiles’ mouth, shoving his cock further inside in the process. He heard Stiles let out a small choking noise yet he made no effort to pull off, just waited until Derek was done. Stiles let Derek slip out of his mouth and swallowed heavily, gasping for breath. He grinned widely at Derek when they locked eyes, Stiles disheveled with a bit of cum drying in the corner of his mouth, and Derek wide eyed and panting loudly.

“Good?” he asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“So good,” Derek replied. “Congratulations, your blowjob skills are at the same level as your lacrosse ones.”

“Good to know,” Stiles chuckled. He pushed his jeans down and pulled himself out of his underwear. He was fully hard and dripping at the tip, which gave Derek a small boost of confidence.

“Want me to…” he gestured at Stiles’ length.

“Whatever you want is fine,” Stiles replied. He gasped when he did something with his hand that made his cock twitch in his fist. Derek’s mouth watered.

“Can I do it to you too?”

“Yeah,” Stiles answered in a breathy voice. He took his hand off his cock and it bounced up against his stomach. Derek scooted down the bed and knelt in front of Stiles, running a hand up and down his thigh as he assessed the situation.

“Fair warning, I’m flying pretty blind here,” he said. He gave Stiles no time to answer before he went for broke, running the flat of his tongue across the head and tasting the bitter precum. Stiles whined and gripped onto Derek’s shoulder, his fingers digging into the muscle. Stiles’ cock was hot and hard in his mouth, filling it up wider than Derek thought was possible. A moved his mouth up and down experimentally, curling his tongue around the ridges at the base of the head like Stiles had done to him.

“This isn’t going to take long,” Stiles gasped, bucking up into Derek’s fist. “Keep doing – yeah that right there with your hand – oh god.”

Derek didn’t have to work his mouth and tongue for long before Stiles was tapping his fingers against Derek’s cheek.

“Pull off if you don’t want me to finish in your mouth,” he groaned. “God, your mouth is fucking magic.”

Derek just pressed on, sucking harder and taking Stiles deeper than before. Stiles’ whines grew steadily higher pitched and soon he was gasping as his cock twitched and spurted into Derek’s mouth. He swallowed steadily and with minimal choking, pulling off and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand like Stiles had done.

“Alright?” he asked cheekily. Stiles smacked his shoulder in response.

“Thought you said you were flying blind?”

“I was,” Derek said, taking the glass of juice Stiles held out to him. He swished it around in his mouth, replacing the salty taste of Stiles’ cum with the sweetness of the apple juice.

“Well you’re a fucking quick learner then,” Stiles declared.

“Had a good teacher,” Derek shot back, making Stiles let out a bark of laughter. They both slipped their underwear back on, and Stiles pulled the laptop closer. Derek grabbed the blanket resting at the bottom of the bed and pulled it up over them, snuggling down further into the bed.

“So what was that earlier about being a slut for my sock?” Stiles asked, smirking.

“Shut up,” Derek retorted, hitting Stiles in the side of the head with a pillow.

“Hey, just trying to explore our options a little further.”

The rest of the movie passed with no more sexual activity, and a minimal amount of joking from Stiles. Stiles’ initial excuse about needing to help Derek relax had proven effective, and Derek had to stop himself from drifting off to sleep a few times. The bed was warm and cozy and he had Stiles pressed all down one side. It was the ideal recipe for comfort.

“You awake, big guy?” Stiles whispered into Derek’s ear as the credits scrolled across the screen.

“Yep,” Derek mumbled. His eyes fluttered open to see Stiles’ face only inches from his own, his lips upturned in a soft smile. He wanted to kiss him, but he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to.

“You can, if you want,” Stiles replied. Derek had apparently said that out loud. “Why wouldn’t you be allowed to?”

“We’re not dating,” Derek said, pushing himself up into a sitting position. “I don’t have any idea what the protocol is in this situation.”

“Well I like what we’re doing,” Stiles declared. “And I’d like to keep doing it, if that’s ok with you. I guess we could call it a friends-with-benefits arrangement. Dating without any messy feelings.”

Derek offered up what he hoped was a convincing smile. There was no way his feelings for Stiles were going to disappear overnight, particularly if they were going to be spending even more time together now. If Derek had thought his crush was bad before, it was even worse now. A month ago he hadn’t really even known Stiles. He thought he did because he could recite all of his lacrosse stats, knew all of his classes, and had short conversations with him on a regular basis, but that was no comparison. Now Derek knew who Stiles really was as a person. He was the kind of guy who cared for his father, and handed opportunities to his friend because he needed them more. He was the kind of guy who sang along to pop songs in the car and wasn’t shy to declare his love for Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, and who could recite the lines to Marvel movies in his sleep, yet still loved to watch them. He was incredible, and Derek was fucked. So, so fucked.

“Hey,” Stiles said, waving his head in front of Derek’s face. “You zoned out again there. I said your phone went off. It’s your sister.”

“Shit, sorry. Thanks.” Derek typed in his passcode and opened the message.

_Cora Hale, 5:59pm: Did you end up getting a ride home or did you need me to get you from somewhere? I’m leaving Amanda’s in 15._

“Did you still want me to take you home, or did you want to get your sister to do it?” Stiles asked, pulling on his shirt. Derek had never hated a shirt so much in his life.

“She doesn’t know I’m here. I’m not going to tell her, if we want to keep this thing under wraps. If she knows then everyone else will find out.”

“Oh, ok,” Stiles replied. He handed Derek his shirt from where it had gotten tossed onto the floor.

“I thought that’s what we were doing?” Derek asked, confused. “Did you tell your friends?”

“No,” Stiles replied. “I just assumed you would have.”

Derek was about to open his mouth to encourage Stiles to tell his friends. Sure, he might be on the receiving end of a few more jokes than usual, but then maybe Derek could see Stiles more. If his friends knew then maybe Stiles might want to hold his hand in their shared class, or sneak into the locker rooms during lunch with a lookout posted down the hallway.

“You’re probably right, about not telling our friends,” Stiles said. Derek wanted to hit himself. “I’d never hear the end of it. We’d never get any privacy and people would never shut up. Ok, we’ll keep it between us. At least for now.”

“Agreed,” Derek said quietly. He laughed when Stiles stuck his hand out so they could shake on it. “We should leave now if we don’t want Cora to see us, though. That’d blow our cover.”

“Roger that,” Stiles said with a mock salute, pulling his pants on.

As Derek felt a spark of affection at the way Stiles was hopping around while trying to redress, he knew he was screwed. There was no way he was making it out of this unscathed.

 

***

 

“Let’s hang out on Saturday,” Stiles said to Derek a few days later. “There’s a new rom com that’s just come out and Scott refuses to go with me. Something about keeping his dignity, which we all know left the building years ago.”

He leant against the locker next to Derek’s, crossing his ankles. Derek looked great in the tight green shirt he was wearing. It really brought out the colour in his eyes, and accentuated the muscles in his upper arms. Now that Stiles knew just what Derek was hiding under his typically lose shirts, he couldn’t help but notice.

“Yeah, sure,” Derek replied. He had stacked a bunch of books high enough in his arms that they touched his chin. “Close the locker for me, would you.”

“Want me to pick you up?” Stiles asked, closing Derek’s locker with a bang. He steadied the tower of books in Derek’s arms and received a smile as thanks.

“Nah, I’ll meet you there. It’s about time Cora let me have the car on a weekend.”

“I’ll be a gentleman and buy you popcorn,” Stiles declared.

“Will you let me have more than a handful this time?” Derek teased.

“Hey, it’s not my fault you eat at a snail’s pace. That popcorn never stood a chance.”

“See you later, Stiles,” Derek grinned.

Stiles felt a twinge of sadness as Derek walked away. He really liked talking to him and was always sad when he had to go. It was probably just the sudden proximity. After all, he never felt like that about Scott.

 

***

 

“I’m taking the car on Saturday night,” Derek declared at dinner.

“No, you’re fucking not,” Cora cried. “Erica and I are going to a party and we need it.”

“Language, Cora,” their mother chided. “What did you need it for, Derek?”

“I’m going to the movies with Isaac and Danny. Some chick flick that they both wanted to see. Please, Mom, Cora always gets to use the car.”

Talia pondered for a moment. “I’ll drive you girls to the party,” she said, ignoring Cora’s cry of protest. “Your brother hardly ever gets to use it.”

“Suck it,” Derek said, sticking his tongue out at Cora. She flicked a spoonful of peas at him.

 

***

 

“So where are you actually going on Saturday?” Cora asked when she barged into Derek’s room a few hours later.

“I told you, to the movies.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s not.”

“What’s the name of the movie?”

“I have no idea, I’m not the one that suggested it. Something with one of the girls from _High School Musical_.”

“Ok, fine. I still don’t believe you though.”

“Whatever,” Derek said, waving her off. “The car will be in the parking lot of the cinema if you’re looking to come steal it.”

“Are you sneaking off to meet someone?”

“ _No_ , Cora. Going to the movies with friends is a pretty normal thing. I don’t get why you’re so suspicious.”

“You’ve been home a lot less lately,” she said, studying his face. “It’s always been school, lacrosse, home, and now you’re disappearing into the night all the time.”

“I’ve got more friends now,” Derek explained, trying to pad the excuse with details on the fly. “Most of the guys on the lacrosse team are cool people. I’ve been hanging out with a bunch of them.”

“This isn’t about Stiles, is it?” she asked.

“We’re friends. Like I’ve told you twenty times now.”

“The kind of crush you had on him doesn’t just go away overnight, Der. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I won’t,” Derek declared. “I promise.”

 

***

 

“I cannot believe you invited me to a movie titled ‘Magic 8 Balls’,” Derek hissed as he and Stiles waited in line to buy movie tickets that Saturday.

“Hey, don’t knock it til you watch it,” Stiles replied. “Everyone loves a good 8 sided love triangle. A love octagon.” He handed the cashier enough for two tickets and waved off Derek’s attempts to pay him back. “I’m the one that invited you out. I’ll pay.”

“Does this mean I have to put out after?” Derek joked.

“Only if you want to,” Stiles replied cheekily.

They hadn’t had any alone time since Stiles had driven Derek home after the lacrosse practice the week before, and Stiles was getting a little desperate. His hands had itched to touch Derek’s body when he’d pulled up to the cinema, wanting to push his shirt up and rake his nails down Derek’s back and over his chest. He’d settled for pushing Derek against the side of the car and kissing him deeply, nipping at his lips. He’d laughed when Derek had quickly looked around after Stiles had pulled back, like he was searching for paparazzi in the dark.

“What drink?” Stiles asked Derek, holding up two large cups to fill with soda.

“Cherry Coke,” Derek replied, stealing a few popcorn kernels through the slit in the top of the box tucked under Stiles’ arm.

“A man after my own heart,” Stiles cried, pretending to swoon. He handed Derek the filled cup, but not before sucking a mouthful in through the straw.

“Yours is the same drink,” Derek cried, emitting an odd squawking sound.

“Yours is better,” Stiles said, cheekily.

“Stiles, Derek,” someone called from across the candy bar. Stiles’ head shot up to see one of the newer players on the lacrosse team, one that was always on the bench. David, or something along those lines.

“Hey,” Stiles said, lifting a hand in greeting.

“I didn’t know you guys were together,” the kid cried, a huge smile on his face. “Congratulations. Everyone on the team’s always saying you’ll pull it together eventually.”

“We’re not together,” Stiles said quickly, taking a small step to the side, away from Derek.

“We’re here with, uh, Lydia,” Derek added. “She didn’t want to line up for food so we’re bringing it to her.”

“Oh crap, I’m really sorry,” the kid said, his eyes wide.

“Don’t worry about it,” Stiles said quickly. “We should go get the popcorn to Lydia. She gets real mad if it’s anything less than steaming hot.”

“Enjoy your movie. Sorry again,” the kid squeaked, practically sprinting in the opposite direction.

Derek was unusually quiet as they selected their seats in the back row of the cinema, and settled in to wait for the trailers to start.

“You ok, dude?” Stiles asked, nudging Derek’s shoulder with the box of popcorn.

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“Was it that kid? I’m sorry, I didn’t know anyone from the team worked here.”

“It’s fine. Just caught me by surprise, is all.”

Stiles dropped it, choosing instead to take a drink from Derek’s cup. It succeeded in getting a rise out of him, and Stiles smirked.

The movie was as cliché as Stiles had expected it to be, though there were some good laughs. One scene in particular involved the protagonists in a standoff with a horse in an old stable, and Derek lost his shit. He tried to choke back laughter but couldn’t hide it, damn near spitting his drink all over himself and Stiles. Stiles watched the smile spread across his face and his eyes fill with tears of laughter and decided he needed to keep Derek. As much as he tried to ignore the fluttering in his stomach when he saw Derek’s smile, he couldn’t. But if he couldn’t make his developing feelings go away, he could at least make sure Derek didn’t find out about them. If Derek knew Stiles had feelings for him he might try to call their arrangement off, and Stiles couldn’t let that happen. He’d rather have some of Derek than none at all.

He willed himself to look away from Derek, but instead turned his face towards Stiles’ with a hand on his chin, and pressed their lips together softly. The laugh died on Derek’s lips immediately, and he kissed Stiles back with fervor. They broke away after a few moments, Stiles’ eyes dropping to his lap. He couldn’t help the small smile that spread across his face.

They didn’t speak until after the movie, walking alongside each other to the car park in silence.

“So, what did you think?” Stiles asked, leaning back against his Jeep and watching Derek scuff the toe of his sneaker on the asphalt.

“Will you be offended if I insult your movie choice?” Derek asked, smiling.

“You may be the only person who I wouldn’t be angry at if they did,” Stiles replied. He spun his keys around on his fingers, catching them just before they slipped off.

“Then I think this choice was unrepresentative of your taste in movies as a whole,” Derek answered.

“Ooh, that’s a good one, Casanova,” Stiles said. “I’d invite you over but I’ve gotta get back. Dad finishes his shift in a half hour and I want to have dinner ready for him when he gets home.”

“Another time then.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Derek bit his lip and moved into Stiles’ space, pushing him further back into the door of the Jeep. Stiles tilted his head up and closed his eyes, waiting for Derek to make the move. It didn’t take long for Derek to press their lips together, kissing Stiles deeply. He braced himself on the Jeep with his forearm, and wrapped his other hand around Stiles’ hip. Stiles moaned and twined a hand in Derek’s hair, tugging him in to melt their bodies together. Derek pulled back, gasping, and licked the taste of Stiles from his own lips.

“See you, Stiles,” Derek said. He turned and started walking towards his car.

“I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave,” Stiles called out after him, his eyes fixed on the way Derek’s pants hugged his ass. He climbed into the Jeep, still smiling, and adjusted his pants around the hard on Derek had given him. He sat for a few moments, just smiling to himself, before he turned the key in the ignition and peeled out of the parking lot.

 

***

 

There was once a time when Stiles was a little scared of Cora, but he was now forever grateful for her occasional volatility. The time when she barricaded him in a shed in kindergarten and refused to let him out and then again in middle school when she locked him in a janitors closet were forgotten when she threw a book at her brother. There was also the time she’d threatened to wring his neck over a very particular green pencil in the third grade, but now all was forgotten; Stiles now had to credit one of the hottest moments of his life to Cora – which was a sentence he never, ever wanted to think about again.

It was a week after their movie ‘date’ when Stiles’ phone buzzed signaling an incoming message from Derek.

_Derek Hale, 3:20pm: I hate my sister_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:21pm: why this time? Did she eat the last of your blue Twizzlers again?_

_Derek Hale, 3:21pm: she threw a book at me and now I have a huge bruise on my chest_

_Derek Hale, 3:22pm: seriously, I swear I can see outlines of words_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:23pm: :(_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:23pm: poor Der bear_

_Derek Hale, 3:25pm: see for yourself_

_Derek Hale, 3:25pm [one image attachment]_

Stiles’ breath caught in his throat when he opened the image. Sure, the bruise looked pretty nasty, but what really caught his eye was Derek’s bare torso in damn near perfect lighting. Every muscle in his stomach and chest was accentuated and caught the light perfectly. Stiles briefly debated the immorality of jerking off to a picture of Derek with a bruise on his chest. Was it less weird if he covered the bruise with his finger or something? Actually, it was probably off limits to jerk off to a picture that wasn’t sent sexually, regardless of the content. Stiles decided to do what he did best and pussyfoot around the issue without being serious.

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:28pm: shit that does look bad_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:28pm: but do you know what doesn’t look bad?_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:28pm: your body_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:28pm: that picture is hot enough to be a sext_

Stiles started to get nervous after a few minutes went by with no response from Derek. Maybe he hadn’t read the message, or was off putting cream on his bruise, or something. Did you even put cream on bruises? Or was Stiles’ comment really insensitive and Derek had gotten offended?

Stiles grabbed his phone to send an apology text when another message came through.

_Derek Hale, 3:32pm [one image attachment]_

Stiles opened the attatchment and nearly dropped his phone. Rather than take offense to what Stiles had said, Derek had clearly taken his words as a challenge. The image showed Derek now wearing only his underwear, lying on his bed with his legs spread. The outline of his dick was visible enough to see that he was getting hard. Stiles whimpered and palmed himself through his sweats.

“Are we really doing this?” Stiles asked his empty room. “Yeah, we’re really doing this.” He took a deep breath and slid his sweats down his legs, kicking them off onto the floor. He debated removing his underwear but decided against it, snapping a photo of his bare torso, fully hard dick clearly visible through the thin cotton of his underwear. He studied the photo for a moment before pressing send, noting the small wet patch his precum had made against the light gray of the cotton. He hoped Derek liked it.

Derek did.

_Derek Hale, 3:35pm [one audio attachment, 0:09 seconds]_

As soon as Stiles pressed play on the short audio file the sounds of wet skin slapping against itself accompanied by Derek’s moans filled his room.

“Oh my god,” Stiles whispered. As soon as the audio stopped playing he mashed the replay button. He pushed his underwear down and grabbed hold of his cock, pumping it up and down. The sounds of Derek moaning had gotten Stiles so turned on that he didn’t need spit or lube to ease the way. Using only his precum he worked up and down his length, fucking his hips up into it on the upstrokes. After a moment he fumbled for his phone and snapped a shot of him touching himself. It was quite a good photo, really. His cock was almost painfully hard and really wet, dwarfing the hand that was squeezing the base to keep himself from shooting off. In the photo his stomach muscles flexed and his balls were just visible, drawn up tight. He pressed send and was almost immediately rewarded with another photo from Derek.

_Derek Hale, 3:38pm [one image attachment]_

Stiles jerked himself quickly as he opened the photo. His phone screen was filled with a close up shot of three of Derek’s fingers stuffed into his ass, the muscle visibly tight around them and glistening with lube.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Stiles cried out, unable to stop his impending orgasm. His back arched up off the bed and his toes curled in the sheets as ropes of cum landed on his stomach and chest. He lay there trying to catch his breath and wondered how the hell he’d gotten so lucky. Before wiping his chest down he took a photo of his cum drying across his naked body, spent cock lying against his thigh. A few moments later Derek sent back a photo of himself in a similar state.

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:42pm: ok, we really need to do that in person next time_

_Derek Hale, 3:43pm: agreed, it’s been too long. I’m having withdrawals._

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:44pm: I really want to blow you again_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:44pm: if I could get hard again I already would be, thinking about you in my mouth_

_Derek Hale, 3:45pm: or you could fuck me?_

Stiles’ brain went offline.

_Derek Hale, 3:47pm: you there?_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:47pm: sorry, I think you killed me_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:48pm: yes. 400 times yes._

_Derek Hale, 3:50pm: come round to mine after the game on Friday. My parents are going to San Francisco for the weekend and Cora will be at a friend’s house_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:51pm: I don’t think I’ve been this excited for something since I was a kid and Santa said he’d buy me a new bike_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:51pm: this is better than a bike_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:51pm: you’ve officially beaten out all my childhood dreams_

_Derek Hale, 3:52pm: you’re a dork_

_Stiles Stilinski, 3:52pm: a dork you want to have sex with_

_Derek Hale, 3:52pm: that is correct_

 

***

 

Derek wasn’t sure if his sexual proposition had anything to do with how good Stiles was playing during the lacrosse game the next Friday, but whatever it was he should probably keep doing it. Stiles was absolutely _killing_ it and Derek was more than proud. He was inclined to believe it had something to do with offering his ass up on a silver platter for Stiles’ taking, because Stiles had been bouncing off the walls all week. He’d bump shoulders with Derek whenever he saw him in the hallways, and had taken to adding additional lacrosse practices for himself during his lunch periods. Of which Derek’s attendance was apparently mandatory. He’d had Derek toss tricky shots at him and made him help practice his dodges, despite Derek’s complaints about just wanting to sit down (of course these comments were quickly followed up with a joke from Stiles about sex, so clearly it was on his mind whenever Derek was around). At the practice a few days prior Stiles had damn near taken a sophomore’s head off with his stick because he’d been sprinting down the field waving at Derek and not watching where he was going. Derek was pretty sure he’d broken Stiles.

He leapt up in his seat and cheered with the rest of the crowd when Stiles scored yet another goal, marking his sixth or seventh one of the game. Derek wondered if maybe there was a college scout at the game and Stiles hadn’t mentioned it to him, because he truly was on his A-game. Stiles usually played well, but it might have been the best Derek had seen him play, and that was saying something. He wished Stiles’ Dad could have gotten off work for the night to see him, he’d have been really proud.

He and Scott raced down the field, passing back and forth to each other and weaving through the lines of opposing players. Stiles passed the final shot to Scott who scored right as the buzzer sounded. Stiles threw his stick to the ground and enveloped Scott in a hug. The two were quickly overrun by their teammates who surrounded them in a massive group hug of maroon and white. Derek could see Stiles’ blinding smile from where he sat in his usual spot in the top corner of the bleachers, his white teeth shining between his full pink lips. Derek heard a chorus of giggles and glanced down at a group of sophomore girls sitting on the row below him.

“I’m going to ask him out,” a girl with dark hair tied up in a bobbing ponytail said.

“Not if I beat you to it,” another cried.

“God, he’s so hot,” another one sighed. “His mouth is, like, perfect.”

 _That mouth is going to be wrapped around my cock later_ , Derek thought to himself, smirking. He looked up to see Stiles smiling up at him. He waved down at the field, and Stiles shocked Derek by blowing a kiss at him. He supposed it was typical Stiles behaviour and nobody else would notice anything out of the ordinary, but it meant something to Derek. It was almost like a parallel of their relationship; hiding in plain sight and looking completely ordinary, whilst in private everything had been altered.

The group of girls squealed and started fighting about which of them Stiles had been blowing a kiss to, and Derek laughed. He returned it to Stiles, who pretended to catch it. The girls fell silent and one turned to look at Derek, blushing when their eyes locked. She quickly turned around and whispered something in the ear of her friend which caused the other girl to laugh. Derek didn’t care. He was going to go home and sleep with the hottest guy in the school, who also happened to be an incredible person. Bitchy comments aside, Derek was the real winner.

He moved quickly down the rows of seats to catch Stiles before he filtered into the change rooms with the rest of his team. Stiles threw an arm around his shoulders when Derek reached him, smiling over at him.

“You guys played great today,” Derek said to Stiles, Scott, and Isaac.

“It was a great game,” Scott agreed, clapping Derek on the shoulder that Stiles wasn’t currently occupying.

Derek leant in close to Stiles to whisper in his ear. “See you at mine?” he asked.

“I’ll pick up Chinese on the way,” Stiles replied. His breath tickled Derek’s ear. Even though he was sweaty and covered in grass and dirt from the game, Derek wanted nothing more than to press his body against Stiles’ and kiss him stupid.

It was odd to come home to an empty house and know nobody was going to be there for hours. It almost never happened, since Cora and Derek rode to and from school together every day, and their mother worked short hours in comparison to most. If he wasn’t expecting Stiles soon he probably would have taken the opportunity to have a relaxing masturbation session, but that wasn’t in the cards. Actually, maybe he should do that anyway to take the edge off. Derek decided it probably didn’t matter, since he’d likely come in five seconds regardless. Hopefully Stiles would too, and then they could just go for round two.

He rushed upstairs to check on his hair, mussing it up a bit with his hands in the mirror. He’d specifically forgone gel, remembering the conversation he’d had with Cora and Erica before Stiles picked him up for the lacrosse dinner weeks back. It didn’t feel like weeks, it felt like a lifetime ago. After reapproving his hair and outfit, he skipped back downstairs to evaluate the living room. Should he and Stiles eat in there and watch a movie, or should he just take him straight up to his room? It occurred to Derek that Stiles had never actually been in his house before; the closest he’d gotten was the front porch.

He didn’t have much more time to stress, before Stiles was ringing the doorbell. Derek swore he jumped a few feet in the air at the sound, and rushed to the door in the most undignified manner possible.

“I bring food,” Stiles called out as Derek swung open the door. “You have to let me in now or there will be no spring rolls for you.”

“What, do you think I’m going to take the bag and run?” Derek asked. He shot forward to grab at the bag jokingly, but Stiles saw right through him and stepped backwards in response.

“I knew it, you only wanted me for my food delivering abilities,” he joked.

“Get in here,” Derek laughed, stepping aside to let Stiles through the door.

“The inside of your house is like some mythical beast. I’m not sure if it actually even exists,” Stiles said, pretending to debate whether he should step through the doorway or not. Derek laughed and tugged him in by the arm, swiftly shutting the door behind Stiles.

“There’s a bunch of movies on the table in the lounge. Pick one and I’ll grab us something to eat with.” Derek directed Stiles towards the living room and made his way into the kitchen.

“Your DVD collection is fantastic,” Stiles called from his position in front of the coffee table.

“I’ll be sure to let my Mom know,” Derek snorted. He rounded the corner with the food and placed it on the coffee table. Stiles was holding out the DVD for a run of the mill comedy movie which Derek barely registered. If he was honest with himself, he would be too caught up in thinking about where the night was going to eventually lead to pay any real attention to the movie.

He flopped down on the couch next to Stiles, pressing in closer than what was strictly needed considering the size of the couch they were occupying. Stiles didn’t seem to mind, brushing his fingers over the back of Derek’s neck as he leaned forward to grab his food. They ate in relative silence, leaning against each other and just enjoying the proximity. When Derek heard the sound of a key turning in the lock of the front door, he nearly yelled at Stiles to call the police, since he was pretty sure they were about to get robbed. Never mind the fact that a robber wouldn’t have a key, but he wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.

“Der, I’m home,” Cora called out loudly, clearing expecting Derek to be in his room upstairs.

“Why are you here?” Derek yelled, standing up from the couch.

“Oh, hey, I thought you’d be upstairs.”

“Why are you here? Leave. You should go.”

“Uh, no?” Cora said, kicking off her shoes. “Jess had to cancel at the last minute because her dog got sick. Ooh, did you get take out? It smells great.” She moved towards the living room. “Oh, hey, Stiles.” She flopped into the armchair before shooting up straight and staring at Derek. “ _Hey, Stiles_ ,” she said again, eyes flicking between the two of them.

“Hi, Cora,” Stiles said brightly, waving at her with his spring roll. “There’s extra if you want it.”

She took the offered carton, still eyeing Derek up suspiciously. Derek stared at the ground, chewing angrily.

“What are you guys doing?” she asked eagerly.

“Just watching a movie, nothing too spectacular,” Stiles answered. He was a far better actor than Derek. Though he supposed it wasn’t really acting, since they hadn’t started doing anything else yet. And now they likely wouldn’t be able to because Cora’s friend’s dog had gotten sick. What were the odds?

Derek sat back down at the opposite end of the couch from Stiles. He already missed the warmth of him pressed along his side. He wanted to shoot Stiles an apologetic expression, but Cora was no doubt watching him like a hawk. After ten minutes Derek couldn’t take it anymore.

“Cora, can I talk with you in the kitchen?” Derek asked. Cora stared at him for a moment with her eyebrows raised in what was a clearly conveyed “are you fucking kidding me”, but she nodded and followed him.

“I think I know exactly what’s going on here,” she whispered once Derek had closed the door between the living room and kitchen, a shit-eating grin plastered on her face.

“Right now I couldn’t care less about what you do and don’t know. Could you please leave? I’m willing to consider a bribe.”

“ _What_? Hell no I’m not leaving.”

“Cora, I’m serious.”

“So am I. where am I supposed to go, the fucking McDonalds?”

“Go to the park and listen to music or something.”

“I’m not going to the god damn park in the middle of the night so you can have a fucking _booty call_ , Derek,” she hissed.

Derek stopped short. “What makes you think this is a booty call?”

“Oh fucking please,” she cried, rolling her eyes. “If this was a completely innocent opportunity to spend time with your friend you wouldn’t need me out of the house.”

“Please go,” was Derek’s only reply.

“Derek Hale, are you about to lose your virginity to your long time crush? On my god, this is amazing,” Cora squealed.

“Nobody’s losing anything if you’re still here in five minutes,” Derek hissed. “And I would also like to take this opportunity to deny everything.”

“Then I’m not leaving,” Cora declared, plonking herself into one of the barstools against the counter.

“You’re refusing to leave?”

“Unless you admit what’s really going on here.”

“Ok then, would you rather have a fun time cranking Taylor Swift in the car, or would you prefer to know what it sounds like when Stiles cums in my ass?”

“Fuck you, I’m going to McDonalds but _only_ because it was fucking traumatizing just hearing you say that and I don’t need the actual event plaguing my nightmares for the next decade.”

“Here’s money for a cheeseburger. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

She snatched the money from his hand and shoved it into her pocket. “You have 45 minutes,” she stated before heading to the front door to slip on her shoes.

“You heading out?” Derek heard Stiles ask Cora, who snorted in response.

“Yes I am, Stilinski. Apparently I have a sudden craving for a cheeseburger that will take me 45 minutes to fulfill. You hear that: _45 minutes_.” Derek didn’t hear his response, so could only assume he nodded his acknowledgement. “Can’t believe I’m being kicked out for a fucking booty call,” Derek could hear Cora mutter as she closed the front door behind her.

“Sorry about that. I really didn’t know she’d be here,” Derek said, coming back into the living room. “I know you didn’t want anybody to know—“

“Hey, no, stop,” Stiles said, coming over to where Derek was leaning against the wall. “It’s cool. It’s also not your fault. Everything’s fine.”

“I’ll talk to her later. Make sure she doesn’t tell anyone.”

“If that’s what you feel you need to do,” Stiles said. He stroked his thumb over Derek’s cheek as he smiled softly at him. After a few swipes his thumb brushed over Derek’s lip, causing Derek’s breath to catch in his throat. When Stiles did it a second time Derek opened his mouth slightly, letting the tip of Stiles’ thumb slip inside. He sealed his lips around it and gave it a soft suck, wrapping his tongue around what it could reach.

“God yes,” Stiles groaned, pulling his thumb from Derek’s mouth and replacing it with his lips. He pressed Derek into the wall with his weight, while Derek pulled him in at the same time. Their hands ran over each other’s bodies, slipping under clothes and into hair. Stiles sucked Derek’s tongue into his mouth and released it with a soft pop, the sounds of them catching their breaths the only thing breaking the silence.

“Upstairs,” Derek gasped, grabbing onto Stiles’ hand and pulling him towards the stairs. Stiles complied, both moving in a rush. Derek pulled Stiles into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him and immediately getting pressed into the wood by Stiles. They kissed for a few moments before pulling of their own skirts, skin meeting skin when they pressed back against each other. Derek pushed Stiles towards the bed and fell down onto him, Stiles’ legs opening for Derek to fit between.

“Off,” Stiles commanded, tugging at the waistband of Derek’s jeans. “As much as I’d love a bit of frottage, I want to get this show on the road before I cum.” Derek nodded and pulled off his pants while Stiles took care of his own. Derek wasted no time ridding Stiles of his underwear, sucking his cock down nearly to the base without warning. Stiles cursed and arched his hips up, pulling at Derek’s head. “I’ll cum if you do that,” he gasped.

Derek nodded, and moved upwards to fumble with the drawer of his bedside table. The change in positon caused their erections to rub against each other, drawing out loud moans. Derek pulled the lube and a single condom from the back of his drawer, which he’d stocked after an embarrassing trip to the gas station a week beforehand. He handed both to Stiles, meeting his eyes with a sexually charged gaze. Stiles scrambled out from underneath Derek, pulling Derek’s underwear off to join the rest of their clothes on the floor. Stiles wasted no time slicking his fingers up, meeting Derek’s eyes as he shoved Derek’s legs apart, receiving a loud moan in return. Derek pulled one of the pillows out from under his head and pushed it beneath his hips, giving Stiles more access. He heard Stiles whimper when he pulled his legs up to his chest, exposing his hole.

“Is this a bad time to mention that I’ve never gone all the way with a guy before?” Stiles asked, his wide eyes locked between Derek’s legs.

“Did you want me to do it?” Derek asked, reaching for the lube.

“Maybe just to start. I don’t want to hurt you,” Stiles replied, leaning down to nip at Derek’s thigh. Derek slicked his own fingers up and reached between his legs, pressing the first to his hole. Stiles’ intake of breath was more audible than Derek’s when Derek pressed the first finger in to the second knuckle, moving it around easily. “Do you do this to yourself a lot?” Stiles asked. Derek noticed he’d started jerking himself off slowly as he watched.

“A fair bit,” Derek replied, pushing in a second finger and curling them to find his prostate.

“What do you think about, when you do that? How you’d like to be fucked?”

“I think about you,” Derek replied, gasping when he brushed over the bundle of nerves. “I think about you doing this to me. I think about you fucking me into the mattress and about riding you in the backseat of the Jeep. I think about how it’ll feel when you’re finally inside me.”

“Oh shit,” Stiles muttered, squeezing the base of his cock and trying not to cum. After a moment he reached forward to press one of his own fingers against Derek’s entrance, where two of Derek’s fingers had fucked his hole loose.

“Wanna take over?” Derek asked, pulling his fingers out.

“Fuck yes I do,” Stiles replied. He poured extra lube onto his fingers and pressed three in to replace Derek’s two. His fingers were slightly thinner than Derek’s, but longer. He curled them experimentally and brushed over Derek’s prostate on the third try. “Holy shit, that’s hot,” he said as Derek’s back arched and he turned his head to moan into the pillow.

“I’m ready,” Derek gasped after a few more thrusts, Stiles twisting his fingers around to open Derek up more. Stiles pulled his fingers out slowly and ripped open the condom packet with his teeth, rolling it down his length in one practiced move.

“How do you want it?” he asked Derek. Derek thought for a moment before rolling over, resting on his forearms and pushing his ass into the air.

“You’re going to kill me, oh my god, this is way too hot,” Stiles groaned. He brushed his fingers across Derek’s entrance, biting down on his lip when Derek pushed back into him.

“Please do it,” Derek said, muffled from where his face was pressed into the pillow. Stiles rested his cock against Derek’s entrance, pushing in slowly. He started moaning immediately at the sensation of Derek wrapped around him. Derek wasn’t fairing much better, biting down on his pillow so as not to start begging.

“God, you feel amazing,” Stiles said once he’d bottomed out, balls resting against Derek’s ass. He draped himself over Derek to press a kiss to the back of his neck.

“Move, I need you to move,” Derek cried out. Stiles complied, pulling out and thrusting back in hard. Derek’s fingers and toes curled in the sheets and he pushed back hard into Stiles when he pulled out for the next thrust. Stiles bit him lightly on the shoulder and shifted back onto his knees, grabbing onto Derek’s hips and thrusting in again. The new angle made Derek’s nervous system light up and he struggled to muffle his noises in the pillow. Stiles started to thrust faster, his balls hitting Derek’s with every inward movement. Derek was letting out a steam of small noises, willing himself not to cum yet.

“I’m close,” Stiles groaned. He shoved Derek’s legs apart further and pressed in harder, making Derek gasp. Derek reached down to jerk himself off in time with Stiles’ thrusts. Stiles rolled one of Derek’s balls around in his hand as he pushed in and out of Derek’s ass.

“I’m coming,” Derek gasped. He clenched down around Stiles and arched his back, biting down on the pillow. Stiles followed immediately, curling over Derek and resting his forehead on Derek’s upper back, making no attempt to stifle the sounds of his orgasm. After a moment Stiles pulled out, flopping onto his back on the bed next to Derek. The only sounds in the room were of them both trying to catch their breaths. After listening to Stiles pant for a few moments Derek burst out laughing.

“What’s funny?” Stiles asked. His grin was sleepy and he looked like he’d just run a mile.

“The first time I ever jerked off to you was after hearing you try to catch your breath. I wondered whether that’s what you would sound like after sex, and turns out I was correct.”

“You’re a dork,” Stiles said fondly. He leaned over to press his mouth to Derek’s softly. “What time is it?” he asked. Derek reached blindly for his phone and offered it to Stiles, burrowing his face into the pillow. Stiles sighed and moved to get up.

“Is time nearly up?” Derek asked, watching as the muscles in Stiles’ back and ass moved as he pulled on his shirt and underwear.

“Yeah. Figure you won’t want me here while you’re being grilled by your sister.”

“I always want you here,” Derek replied. He pulled on a pair of sweats instead of putting his jeans and underwear back on.

“Except when you’re being grilled by your sister.”

“Except maybe then,” Derek conceded. He pulled his shirt over his head quickly. He smiled when he felt Stiles’ arms wrap around his waist, his chest pressing into Derek’s back. “Are you feeling sentimental?” Derek teased.

“Maybe,” Stiles replied, kissing the back of Derek’s neck quickly before stepping back. Derek walked him to the front door right as Cora pulled up. He was pretty sure it hadn’t been the full 45 minutes, but she had likely been trying to catch them in the act.

“See you at school,” Derek said softly. He wasn’t sure whether he should kiss Stiles if Cora was watching, and Stiles evidently wasn’t sure either. Neither of them made the move, and Stiles instead returned the smile and jogged to his car on slightly wobbly legs.

“I can’t believe you just tapped that,” Cora said, standing next to Derek on the porch as he watched Stiles drive down the road.

Derek was so not looking forward to the conversation he was about to have.

He spun around and walked inside, making a break for the stairs. He heard the door slam and the sound of Cora sprinting after him, trying to catch him before he made it to his bedroom. Derek did make it to his room, but Cora pushed through the door before he could close it.

“Go away,” he groaned, flopping down onto the rumpled bed and pressing his face into the pillow. The bed still smelt faintly of Stiles, and it made Derek smile.

“Gross, you’re all sex happy,” Cora said. She went to sit on the bed beside Derek, before aborting the motion. “You should probably disinfect your bed before anybody is unfortunate enough to sit on it. It’s practically a biohazard.”

“Fuck off.”

“Seriously, do you really want Mom to come and say good night to you and have to sit on a patch of Stiles’ dried cum.”

“Cora, you’re disgusting,” Derek cried. He threw his pillow in Cora’s direction.

“Speaking of Stiles and sex: how was it? Was it good?”

“Do you really want to know?” Derek asked, sitting up and clutching his remaining pillow to his chest.

“Well you seem to be able to walk so there can’t be that much for me to be traumatized by.”

Derek snorted. “Well I actually know how to prep myself properly—“

“ _Ew_ ,” Cora cried.

“You are literally the one that asked,” Derek replied, deadpan.

“Ok, let’s change topics: how did you go from awkwardly fumbling around and blushing whenever he spoke to you, to sex and Chinese takeout? Or, better yet, how is everyone not talking about this at school?”

“We haven’t told anybody,” Derek started to say before Cora cut him off.

“Did he tell you not to tell anybody?” she asked. “I’ll fucking kill him if he did.”

“No, it’s not like that,” Derek replied, scrambling for an excuse. He couldn’t let Cora tell everyone, or she’d ruin what he had with Stiles.

“Then what’s it like?”

Derek felt a lightbulb go on above his head. He said a silent apology to both Stiles and his father before plowing on.

“It’s Stiles’ Dad,” Derek said, staring Cora down. “He’s not supportive of Stiles’ bisexuality, like at all, so Stiles doesn’t want him to find out, and he knew he would if people at school knew. He’s got a bad heart, so he doesn’t need the extra stress.” Derek paused for a moment, but Cora still didn’t look completely convinced, so he continued. “And we want to see where this goes. If everyone at school knew we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere or do anything without people watching us and talking, and then if it didn’t work out everyone would know straight away. You know me, and the last thing I want is that kind of attention. But we’re on the same page about everything, and it’s all good. So it’d be really shitty of you to go and say anything, because Stiles trusts me, and now he has to trust you. So don’t break that.”

“Ok,” Cora said after a moment. “I won’t say anything, but you can’t keep sneaking around like you’re each other’s dirty little secret. I promise not to say anything about it if you have him here. You don’t have to hide anything from me, ok?”

Derek wrapped her in a hug, feeling supremely guilty all the same.

 

***

 

After Cora found out, Stiles starts coming over all the time. It started off with him just coming round after the games, lying around with Derek and watching a movie when he was too tired to move. Then it started evolving into them hanging out at Derek’s every other day after school. Sometimes they’d just hang out, watching shows on Derek’s laptop, or playing video games. Sometimes they’d even train, trading off between practicing lacrosse in Derek’s backyard and lifting weights together in Derek’s basement. Derek was happy to find out that he could actually bench press more than Stiles could, and Stiles retaliated by challenging him to an endurance race around the preserve. Stiles won, obviously, but he’d ended up on his knees sucking Derek’s cock when they got too tired to run anymore, so Derek didn’t mind too much. But most of the time they’d have sex. Derek was pretty sure Cora was starting to regret telling him to have Stiles over at the house rather than sneaking around together – no, he was positive, because she’d screamed it at them one day while they were mid-fuck.

They’d been trying to find ways to get the angle Derek loved when Stiles was thrusting into him from behind, but while fucking face to face. They’d finally found it when Stiles pulled Derek’s legs over his shoulders and pressed forward, practically folding him in half. Derek hadn’t been able to grab a pillow to muffle his sounds in time and Stiles had both of his wrists clasped above his head, so his loud moans were completely uncontrolled. The angle was so good that he couldn’t contain them, and Stiles wasn’t exactly helping with the praises and curses he was whispering into Derek’s ear as he thrusted.

Cora ended up bursting through the door and throwing the TV remote at them, screaming about how loud they were. Her angry screams very quickly turned into horrified screams – which Derek wasn’t sure what she expected to see, considering what she was yelling at them about – with Stiles struggling to pull the blanket over both of them and Derek attempting to get his legs off Stiles’ shoulders without accidentally ripping Stiles’ dick off.

It was ok though, because after consoling Cora with a tub of ice cream she’d congratulated them on having a better sex life than her, and given them permission to continue, as long as Stiles was giving Derek what he needed. She’d even patted Stiles on the back. Derek was pretty sure he’d been traumatized by that conversation.

She’d regretted saying it by the next week.

It was a Thursday and Derek had gone home in the Jeep with Stiles rather than riding with Cora. They’d spent the ride talking and laughing and sharing curly fries that they’d picked up from the diner on the way to Derek’s place. Stiles had pushed Derek up against the door of the Jeep when they’d gotten out and leaned back to whisper in his ear “I want you to fuck me today”. Naturally, Derek had dropped what was left of the curly fries on the ground.

“Wait, what?” he asked, eyes wide. “Since when … I didn’t think that was something you were into?”

“It wasn’t that,” Stiles replied, bending down to salvage what he could of the curly fries. “It’s that you were really keen on me being the one to do the fucking – and obviously that’s fine, I really like what we’re doing, no complaints here – but that doesn’t mean I’m not also interested in flipping it around. If that’s not something you’d be interested in trying then that’s cool, we don’t have to.”

“I’m so interested,” Derek said, gripping Stiles’ wrists to stop him fidgeting. “Interested is my middle name.”

“I thought it was Anthony,” Stiles teased.

“Not tonight,” Derek replied, making Stiles laugh.

He tugged Stiles up to the bedroom straight away, barely acknowledging Cora when they tripped past her open bedroom door.

“Oh my _god_ ,” she cried, jumping up to shut her door. “Be safe,” she yelled through the wood.

They tumbled onto the bed, ridding each other of their clothes immediately. Derek loved looking at Stiles when he was naked, particularly when he was naked and hard. Stiles reclined against the pillows, dragging Derek on top of him and running the points of his nails up and down Derek’s back.

“Get the stuff, come on,” Stiles whispered into Derek’s ear, biting down on the lobe. “I want to feel you in me, like, yesterday.”

Derek shot back, scrambling for the drawer where he kept his supplies, making Stiles laugh.

“There’s no rush,” Stiles teased. “I’ll still be here if it takes you an extra thirty seconds.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure this is a dream and you’ll disappear,” Derek responded. He tossed the lube and a condom onto the bed.

“You don’t need that,” Stiles said quickly, picking up the condom and tossing it back into the drawer.

“Why not? We always use one,” Derek asked, eyes flicking between Stiles and the drawer.

“I want to try it without, if that’s ok,” Stiles asked. He’d gone shy all of a sudden, not meeting Derek’s eyes.

“Hey, it’s totally ok,” Derek said, lifting Stiles’ chin with a finger. “If that’s your preference then I don’t mind.”

Stiles nodded enthusiastically, dragging Derek back in for a deep kiss.

“You gonna open me up?” he asked after a few minutes. His lips were red and swollen, moisture clinging to them. Derek leant in and bit the bottom one softly, eliciting a giggle from Stiles. It took a little longer to open Stiles up then what it usually took Derek, but he’d expected that. If Stiles had only been with women before then it could very well be the first time anyone had touched him there. Derek twisted his fingers inside Stiles and made him gasp, clutching at Derek’s forearms, his nails biting into the skin.

“Right there,” Stiles choked out. He was starting to look absolutely debauched and Derek loved it.

“Fuck, you look so good,” Derek groaned as he twisted a third finger inside Stiles. Every push of his fingers was rewarded with a gasp from Stiles, his legs shaking and toes curling. “You’re so fucking pretty, Stiles.”

“Shut up and put your dick in me already,” Stiles gasped, reaching down to pull Derek’s fingers out.

“You sure you don’t want me to use a condom?” Derek checked again as he slicked his cock up. Stiles shook his head and spread his legs wide.

“Time to put all that exercise to good use,” Stiles teased. He brushed over his hole with his own fingers and whimpered. Derek shuffled forward on his knees and rubbed his hands down Stiles’ thighs.

“Wanna put your legs up?” he asked Stiles.

“Yeah, I guess. That always feels best for you, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Derek said under his breath, catching Stiles’ mouth in a kiss. He sat back and pulled Stiles’ legs onto his shoulders, leaning forward slowly so Stiles’ leg muscles could adjust to the stretch. When he’d moved as far forward as he could without Stiles feeling uncomfortable he started to push his cock into Stiles’ tight heat, going as slowly as he could. “You ok?” Derek asked once he was fully seated.

Stiles nodded and let out a long breath, running his nails down Derek’s back. He smirked up at Derek. “Give it the best you’ve got.”

Derek took it as a challenge. He sat up and braced himself with one hand on the headboard, the other pressing down on Stiles’ hip to hold him steady. With one final check to make sure Stiles was ok he started thrusting in deep, using his lower body strength to fuck into Stiles. Almost immediately his ab muscles started to protest, but Derek ignored the burn. Stiles let out a loud moan and gripped Derek’s ass, trying to pull him in closer.

“Go harder,” he gasped. Derek complied, pounding into Stiles as hard and fast as he could without losing the angle that was making Stiles come apart. Stiles tossed his head back and started making breathy little noises every time Derek thrusted in. Derek changed the angle slightly, pressing one of Stiles’ legs further into his chest. That seemed to be the magic spot, because Stiles started clawing at his back and practically screaming his name. Derek came almost immediately after that, the feeling of Stiles clenching around him and moaning into his ear too much for him to bear. After finishing he pulled out his cock and thrust his fingers in, keeping Stiles’ legs on his shoulders but crooking his fingers to hit the spot that his cock had been pressing on. Stiles came without a hand on his cock, shooting up his chest and screaming Derek’s name, his fingers biting into Derek’s shoulders hard enough to break the skin. They both feel to the bed, gasping and smiling at each other.

“Why the hell didn’t I suggest that sooner?” Stiles asked, laughing.

Derek just kissed him in response.

The bliss didn’t last long. As soon as they left the room so that Stiles could clean himself up and Derek could grab them some snacks, they were accosted by Cora.

“Look, at this point I’m not even mad at you guys, I’m just impressed.” She leant against the hallway wall and stared at them. Stiles shifted from foot to foot, his eyes darting between Cora and the bathroom door.

“I kind of need to…” Stiles trailed off, gesturing towards the door. Cora stepped aside.

“Fuck, I thought Derek was loud, but you’re practically a porn star, Stiles,” she teased, directing it towards Stiles’ retreating back. “You sure you guys don’t have a webcam set up in there? Sounds like something people would pay good money to sit in on.”

Derek flipped her off and went to the kitchen to grab a packet of Stiles’ favourite chips, smiling to himself.

The next time Stiles bottomed Derek shoved his fingers in his mouth to keep him quiet for the sake of Cora’s sanity. Stiles certainly didn’t complain.

 

***

 

Of course since it was all going so well, something would have to come along and ruin it.

The tendrils of the upcoming shitstorm started to swirl on a Friday night, after a winning lacrosse game. Stiles had taken somewhat of a backseat role during the game, choosing to focus on teamwork rather than scoring. It was something Derek and Stiles had been working on for the past week or so, wanting to broaden Stiles’ metaphorical portfolio when college scouts started coming around. Derek knew that scoring most of the shots wasn’t going to be enough to pull Stiles over the line for a lacrosse scholarship. Stiles needed to be able to show that he could help the team win, rather than just pushing himself for a win. It had been extremely successful, considering it was the first game that they’d implemented the new technique in, and Derek was ridiculously proud of Stiles for adapting to it seamlessly. It would have been harder than it sounded, changing his play style, but he’d done it on Derek’s instructions.

Stiles had bounded over to Derek at the end of the game, slamming into him and wrapping his arms around his shoulders, just about knocking Derek off his feet with the force of it.

“Oh, wow, hey,” Derek laughed, grabbing onto Stiles’ shoulders to steady himself.

“How good was that?” Stiles squealed. He was jumping up and down on the spot and he was hurting Derek’s heart with how cute he looked.

“So good,” Derek beamed at him. He leaned in closer to whisper into Stiles’ ear, low enough to be out of earshot of the rest of the crowd. “I’m so proud of you. Also you looked wicked hot out there.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and playfully punched Derek on the arm. “You’re coming with me after I change, by the way,” Stiles said, handing the keys to the Jeep to Derek. “I have a surprise for you. Go keep my baby company and I’ll be out in a sec.”

Derek did as he was told, telling Cora he wouldn’t be home until later and heading to the Jeep. He settled into the passenger seat, fiddling with the radio while he waited for Stiles. He quickly got lost in his own thoughts, picturing the grin Stiles had directed at him, and remembering the weight of him in his arms when he’d hugged him in front of everyone.

Derek wondered what it would be like to do that and not have to quickly step back, or construct an excuse on the fly as to why they were touching so much. He wanted to be able to touch Stiles whenever and not have to hide his feelings. Said feelings were becoming increasingly difficult to hide from Stiles himself. Derek had had to catch himself from saying something that revealed how he felt about Stiles multiple times in that week alone. They’d watched a movie on the Monday and Derek had almost told Stiles just how happy he made him. On the Tuesday they’d been practicing lacrosse and Derek had almost called Stiles his boyfriend. Worst of all, when they’d gone to Stiles’ house after school just yesterday Derek had started to tell Stiles he loved him while they were in the middle of sex. He’d covered it up by saying he loved how Stiles looked while he was fucking him, but it had been a close call.

The worst part was, Derek had meant it. Slowly but surely his feelings for Stiles had developed from pining to a certified crush to something so strong Derek barely wanted to admit it to himself. When he’d gone home afterwards he’d curled up in his room and eaten a full bag of candy corn because he felt sorry for himself. It hadn’t been a pretty sight.

Stiles yanked him back into reality when he shoved open the door to the Jeep, dropping into the driver’s seat. He smelt of the coconut shampoo he’d stolen from Cora. Derek’s heart clenched uncomfortably in his chest.

“What’s up?” Stiles asked. He looked concerned, and Derek couldn’t have that. Stiles could never suspect there was anything wrong, or know how deep his feelings went. It would no doubt freak him out, and that wouldn’t end well for Derek.

“Just trying to figure out what your mysterious surprise is,” Derek replied, changing the radio station.

“Trust me, you’ll like it,” Stiles said, smacking Derek’s hand away from the radio. “We just need to stop by mine first.”

“Do I get a hint?” Derek asked.

Stiles shook his head. He looked like he was enjoying keeping Derek in the dark way too much.

When they pulled up to Stiles’ house Derek unclipped his seat belt and went to step out of the car, but Stiles’ hand on his chest stopped him.

“You’re staying here,” Stiles commanded, grabbing his bag from the backseat. “I’ll be five minutes.”

“Uh, alright,” Derek said, confused. He settled back into the seat and watched as Stiles walked up the path to the front door, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him.

True to his word, he came out five minutes later looking completely the same, but sans his lacrosse bag. Derek narrowed his eyes at him quizzically but didn’t ask any questions yet. If Stiles wanted him to know something then he’d tell him.

That plan went straight out the window when Stiles drove through the darkening streets and out towards the preserve. There was nothing out there unless Stiles had somehow set something up himself earlier that day. Stiles started batting away Derek’s questions about where they were going once they were completely surrounded by the trees of the preserve.

“It’s a surprise, babe,” Stiles groaned, after the tenth time Derek asked. “The very concept entails that you not know what it is.”

Derek’s heart danced in his chest at the pet name.

Stiles turned down the access road they’d parked at the end of the first time they’d done anything together, and Derek’s dick started to harden in an embarrassing Pavlovian response. Stiles parked the Jeep in the small clearing but didn’t turn it off, letting the soft sounds of the radio fill the quiet. He turned to Derek, letting his eyes roam over him for a moment.

“Go get in the backseat,” he directed, shucking off his shirt.

“ _Really_?” Derek asked. Stiles nodded and climbed over the gearshift himself, moving over to give Derek space. Derek complied, navigating his way to where Stiles was, pulling off his shirt as he went. Stiles kissed him immediately, cupping Derek’s face and opening his mouth to slip his tongue into Derek’s. Derek moaned and allowed himself to be pushed back against the window, Stiles straddling him.

“Pants off,” Stiles gasped after they broke away, pulling at his own zipper. Getting undressed in the cramped space was surprisingly difficult, and Derek accidentally kicked Stiles a couple of times in his effort to remove his tight jeans. Stiles wasted no time adjusting Derek to his liking, shoving him down into the seat and pulling his underwear down at the front. He tucked Derek’s underwear underneath his balls and started jerking him with a loose fist.

“So what’s the plan?” Derek asked, trying to keep his voice steady and failing.

“Just lie back and don’t even worry about it,” Stiles replied cheekily. He twisted to grab his jeans from the foot well, pulling a small packet of lube from the pocket. Derek watched as Stiles ripped it open and slicked up Derek’s cock.

“Want me to prep you?” Derek groaned as Stiles tightened his fist and moved his hand up and down Derek’s length faster.

“Nope,” he replied. Before Derek could question him Stiles was rising up on his knees and dropping onto the head of Derek’s cock. Derek’s eyes widened and he shot out to stop Stiles.

“Wait, you’ll hurt yourself,” Derek cried, grabbing Stiles’ hips and stopping him from taking any more of Derek in. Stiles scowled at him and grabbed Derek’s hand, moving it to his ass. He pushed Derek’s dick out of the way and shoved three of Derek’s fingers inside him easily. Derek’s eyes widened and his cock twitched, spurting out precum onto his stomach.

“Surprise,” Stiles said, pulling Derek’s fingers out. “I prepped myself before. Anymore questions, or can we get to the main event?”

Derek held his hands palm up, admitting defeat. He steadied Stiles with a hand on his hip and moved his cock into position to make it easier for Stiles, who sunk down on it to the base almost immediately. He gave a few experimental rocks of his hips and waited for his body to adjust.

“I hope you don’t mind that I totally appropriated your fantasy,” Stiles said, moving his hips in tight circles.

“What?” Derek asked, gasping. He dug his fingers into Stiles’ hips and willed himself not to cum before they really got started.

“When we fucked the first time you said you thought about riding me in the backseat of the Jeep when you jerked off. So I’m totally stealing your fantasy.”

“Zero complaints about that, feel free to steal them all,” Derek replied. Stiles arched his back and pressed Derek down into the seat, kissing him deeply and starting to move his hips properly. He lifted up and dropped down, rocking back and forth to add stimulation. Stiles riding his cock was the hottest thing Derek had ever seen. The way Stiles’ muscles tensed and released as he pushed himself up and down Derek’s length, taking his own pleasure from him was amazing. Derek lay back and watched, not able to do much more than wrap a hand around Stiles’ leaking cock in the cramped space. Knowing it would be over for him soon, he licked his palm and started jerking Stiles in time with his movements, tightening and loosening his fist just like he knew Stiles liked it. Since there was no one else around Stiles didn’t have to muffle his moans, letting them drown out the radio still playing in the front seat. Stiles clenched down around Derek, making Derek lose the last bit of control he had over his orgasm. He threw his head back as he came, Stiles leaning down to suck at his neck as he rode Derek through it. Derek quickly recovered and started moving his hips to match Stiles’ as much as he could with the little leverage he had.

“Come on, Stiles,” Derek whispered into Stiles’ ear. With his free hand he reached around to rub where his cock was stretching Stiles wide, feeling the pull of the tight muscle.

“Oh fuck, oh god,” Stiles groaned. His cock started pulsing and Derek jerked him faster. “Oh _fuck_ , Der.” As Stiles’ cum landed on Derek’s chest Stiles started babbling through his moans. Most of it was incomprehensible, but Derek most definitely caught it when Stiles gasped out “fuck, Der, I love you”. Derek froze, dropping his arms from where they were curled around Stiles. Stiles also stuttered to a halt, staring at Derek with wide eyes.

Derek knew that taking what someone said during sex as fact was typically not something people did, but _fuck_ he wanted Stiles to be serious. He was about to ask him if he _was_ serious, but Stiles started to backtrack.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t, uh—“ Stiles started to say, but was cut off by a knock on the window. Both Stiles and Derek screamed and tried to jump to the opposite side of the car, which was exceptionally hard to do in such a small space, particularly when you were still inside someone else.

After a few moments Stiles swore loudly and pulled his pants on, foregoing the underwear. He clambered into the front seat and cracked the door, smiling nervously.

“Stiles,” a voice said in a supremely unimpressed tone.

“Deputy Richards, hi,” Stiles squeaked. He went to cross his arms over his chest before suddenly realizing he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He shot Derek a terrified expression.

“We got a call about a suspicious car blocking one of the access roads,” Deputy Richards said, shining a flashlight through the rear window of the Jeep. Derek realized he was still completely naked, and scrambled to pull his clothes on. In his haste he accidentally pulled on Stiles’ shirt instead of his own, but wasn’t about to switch them back over when there was a Deputy glaring at him through the fogged up window.

“Yeah, so, uh, really sorry about blocking the road, I’ll go move the Jeep now. Great idea, that one. In fact, I’ll move it right to the driveway of my house. Deal?” Stiles cried in a high pitched voice.

“Who else is in there with you?” Deputy Richards asked, shining the light through the window again. Derek stuck his head into the front seat next to Stiles, forcing a smile. She sighed and motioned for them to get out of the car.

“So we should head on home now,” Stiles started. “It’s getting late and Derek’s parents probably want him home.”

“No can do,” Deputy Richards said. She raised her eyebrows at Stiles’ shirtless state and he blushed, diving back into the Jeep to grab Derek’s shirt. He pulled it on backwards, but Derek didn’t correct him. “I already called in what was happening and your Dad is very interested in chatting with the two of you.”

“Fuck,” Stiles swore under his breath.

Deputy Richards had Stiles move his car so it wasn’t blocking the road and then had them climb into the back of the squad car. She was supremely unimpressed when Stiles asked if he could come up front to control the siren.

It was clear when they arrived at the station that every single person there knew exactly what they had been brought in for. Derek supposed it had a bit to do with the Sheriff being Stiles’ Dad, but mainly the fact that Stiles looked like fucking sex personified. His hair was completely disheveled, his lips were red and swollen, and his shirt – well, Derek’s shirt – was on backwards. He was pretty sure there was also a cum stain on the hem. Derek wasn’t fairing much better, with Stiles’ shirt being very obviously too tight around his pecs, and a massive hickey starting to show just below his left ear. They were told to sit on a bench near the Sheriff’s office, and Stiles looked like he was about to faint. Derek was actually getting concerned.

“You look like you’re heading for the firing squad,” Derek whispered. “Your Dad won’t be that mad, will he?”

“That’s not it,” Stiles hissed back. His leg hadn’t stopped jiggling since they’d sat down and Derek was starting to feel nauseous just watching it. “Brad from the team’s over there.” He nodded his head in the direction of the desks. Derek searched for a moment before locking eyes with one of the players on the lacrosse team. Derek was pretty sure he was a junior, and he had a huge smirk on his face. Derek definitely felt nauseas now.

“Fuck,” he muttered, ducking his head.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Stiles muttered. Derek frowned and looked over at him. He was about to ask what he meant, but was interrupted by the sound of someone loudly clearing their throat. He looked towards it and locked eyes with the Sheriff who had his arms folded as he stared down at them disapprovingly.

“Follow me boys. I think you’ve had enough public exposure for one night,” he said, opening the door of his office and gesturing for them to go in. They both scrambled up and rushed inside, keen to get away from the prying eyes of the main area of the station. Stiles started to babble as soon as the door was closed behind him.

“Dad, I know you have to keep up appearances but it wasn’t that bad and—“

The Sheriff cut him off with a raise of his eyebrows. He turned to Derek.

“Derek, isn’t it? Hale?”

Derek nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“You go to school with my son?”

“Yes,” Derek replied.

“He’s the one that’s been helping me with lacrosse,” Stiles cut in.

“Is he also the reason you’ve been spending hardly any time at home lately?” the Sheriff asked. Stiles just stared at the floor and blushed. “Well I’m obviously not going to charge either of you with anything, but for god’s sake, be a little more discreet next time, would you? Stiles, you have a perfectly good bedroom and I’m sure Derek does as well. I’d really prefer to not have to arrest the two of your for public indecency next time.”

“Absolutely, fantastic idea, won’t happen again,” Stiles cried, jumping to his feet. “Great chat this was, but I should get Derek home.”

“With what car?” the Sheriff asked with raised eyebrows. “And sit down, Stiles, I’m not finished with you yet.” He turned to Derek. “Since Stiles taking you home is out of the question, I’ll call someone to come get you.”

“I can call my sister,” Derek said, pulling out his phone.

“Is that the sister that’s still in high school?” the Sheriff asked. He was watching Derek with a gaze that was weirdly piercing.

“Um … yes.”

“Sorry, kid, has to be an adult. We can’t release you into the care of another minor.”

“How about my sister Laura? She’s away at college but she’ll give you permission to let me leave.”

“Unless she’s your legal guardian that’s not an option.”

Derek was starting to feel desperate. Under no circumstances could his Mom know why he was in the Sheriff’s office. She was still under the impression that Derek had stopped going to lacrosse practices and wasn’t even on speaking terms with Stiles. If she knew what he’d been doing she would be absolutely fuming. Derek would be grounded until he started sprouting gray hairs.

“There’s no one else,” Derek pleaded. He was prepared to try and convince the Sheriff he was a fucking orphan.

“Derek, one of the Deputies has already called your Mom to come down here.”

“Oh fuck,” Derek cried, burying his face in his hands.

“It’s alright, son,” the Sheriff said. “I’ll explain that you’re not being charged with anything and I’m sure she won’t be too mad if you explain yourself.”

“No, you don’t understand, she’s going to go mental,” Derek hissed. “Oh, god.”

“Hey, it’ll be fine,” Stiles said softly. His hand came up to rub circles on Derek’s back.

“I would highly recommend you not be where she can see you when she gets here,” Derek said to Stiles, who chuckled.

“While it’s not the ideal situation, I’m sure she won’t be that pissed at you. I’ll bring my A-game in the charm department. She’ll think I’m delightful.”

Derek just groaned loudly.

Talia was indeed pissed as all hell when she arrived at the station.

Someone had clearly debriefed her on the situation before she’d been let into the Sheriff’s office, because she stalked in with a dark glower on her face. It was directed at Stiles before she turned her sights on Derek.

“Derek Anthony Hale,” she said, staring him down. “You told me you were at Erica’s house with your sister, so there’d better be a spectacular explanation for why you’ve been sneaking around to have sex with someone who not only did I have no idea you were even still speaking to, but who I have explicitly forbid you from seeing.”

The Sheriff opened his mouth to interject, but was cut off by Stiles.

“Mrs. Hale, I can explain—“

“Save it,” she hissed, glaring at him. “I’ve heard just about enough of you over the years to know exactly what your motivations are for being out there with my son. I don’t need to hear your excuses.”

“Mom, stop,” Derek cried, but Talia put up a hand to silence him.

“No, Derek. That boy has caused you nothing but pain and strife over the years, and now this? I thought you were smarter than this, smart enough to see this boy’s intentions for what they really are. I think he’s done quite enough. I don’t need to hear any more, we’re leaving.”

She waited until Derek had risen from the chair, and directed him out of the room, blocking him from saying anything more to Stiles. As the door swung shut behind them Derek heard the Sheriff ask Stiles what he’d done to Derek.

“I haven’t done anything,” Stiles replied in a small voice.

Talia waited until they were in the car and half way through the drive home before she began grilling Derek. Her anger had subsided somewhat, making Derek think it had likely been directed more at Stiles than at him.

“Are you dating him and were too nervous to tell us?”

“No, we’re not dating.”

“So you’re just screwing around with him? Letting him use you?”

“He’s not using me.”

“Derek, you’re smarter than this.”

“Are you done?”

“Not even close. Does your sister know?”

Derek sighed. “Not until recently. We decided not to tell anyone.”

“You … did he tell you not to tell anyone, Derek. Is he making you hide this?”

“It’s not like that.”

“You deserve better than this, Derek. You deserve someone who wants everyone to know they’re with you, and who appreciates you and who doesn’t need you to sneak around for them,” she said, grabbing Derek’s hand and squeezing it. “You’re worth more than what this boy thinks you are.”

Derek pulled his hand back. “I said its _fine_ , Mom. Can we drop it?”

Talia visibly clenched her jaw, but left Derek in peace. He rested his head against the window and watched the houses fly by.

 

***

 

Stiles had done a lot of stupid things in his life. The time he’d broken his arm jumping off a table in fourth grade trying to get Lydia’s attention came to mind, as did the iconic incident in which he and Scott had tried to get themselves locked in the local Walmart overnight before finding out it didn’t close, and getting hauled out by security. But out of all the possible things on the list, telling Derek he loved him for the first time in the middle of sex really took the cake.

The fuck up wouldn’t have been so bad if Derek had done what Stiles hoped he would, which was something along the lines of kissing him and telling him he felt the same way. Even just a small smile would have sufficed. Instead Derek had looked like someone had cut up his childhood teddy bear in front of him, and Stiles had to quickly backpedal. It really did feel like a kick in the gut. Maybe he could explain it away as Derek wanting to be a gentleman and give him the benefit of the doubt about blurting stuff out while on the edge of orgasm, but there wasn’t really any other way around it. Stiles had said how he felt and Derek reacted badly to it. Well, at least Stiles’ lesson had been learnt; he wouldn’t make the mistake again.

The Sheriff didn’t say much after Derek and his mother left aside from telling Stiles to sit tight. Stiles waited while he finished some paperwork and then they drove home in relative silence, the Sheriff shooting Stiles concerned glances every now and then. The cum that Stiles could feel drying in between his thighs was an uncomfortable reminder about what he’d have to talk about. He wondered if his Dad would at least let him have a shower before he started the interrogation. He knew it was coming. Just because it hadn’t happened in the public arena of the station didn’t mean it wasn’t looming on the horizon. His Dad was probably just taking pity on him after Talia yelled at him.

That was another thing Stiles was confused about. She’d said she’d heard about Stiles over the years and knew his intentions, which made zero sense. Stiles had never met the woman, and he and Derek hadn’t been more than acquaintances before that year. Maybe she’d had a bad experience with a sports player when she was in high school and didn’t like Stiles because of that? As for the pain he’d apparently caused Derek, that didn’t make any sense either. Stiles and Derek had been having fun, and everything had been going well. Before Stiles blurted out his feelings like an idiot, that was.

Stiles’ dad did indeed take pity on him when they got home, and let him have a shower before kick starting the interrogation. Stiles climbed the stairs to the bathroom and let the door bang shut behind him. He started the shower and let the room start to fog up. He stared at himself in the mirror and his breath caught in his throat. He looked absolutely wrecked. Like, embarrassingly so. There was no way any person in that station didn’t know why he was there, Brad from the lacrosse team included. Fuck, Derek was going to hate him if everyone found out. He thought about trying to get ahold of Brad’s number and asking him not to say anything, or maybe even bribe him not to, but he decided against it. He selfishly pondered the thought that maybe if everyone started telling Derek how good they looked together then maybe Derek would start to think so too. Maybe he’d consider an actual relationship with Stiles and it could all work out how Stiles wanted it to.

Stiles swore to himself and ripped Derek’s shirt over his head, dropping it to the ground. The warm water stung the red lines that ran down his back, marked up from Derek’s nails. Stiles took a deep breath and pressed his forehead into the cool tiles, trying to think about anything but Derek and the hole he’d just ripped in Stiles’ heart. If the rejection hadn’t hurt so much he’d be tempted to try telling Derek again, accompanied by some flowers or something, but he knew the reaction he’d get would be the same. Why wouldn’t it be? He couldn’t handle that, not again.

When Stiles came downstairs after his shower his dad was waiting for him on the couch. He patted the seat next to him, and Stiles sat down.

“Now, son, I figured you guys were just being normal teenagers and making some questionable but not out of the ordinary decisions. Talia Hale didn’t seem to think so. Do you have any idea why that might have been?”

Stiles shook his head. “Dad, I really don’t have any idea. I’ve never even met her.”

“Well she clearly thinks she knows you,” the Sheriff said. He put his hand on Stiles’ shoulder and smiled softly at him. “Could it have anything to do with Derek’s sexuality? Has he ever mentioned her not being comfortable with him being gay?”

“I … don’t think so,” Stiles said slowly. “Derek’s never mentioned anything like that, but he only ever invites me over when she’s not there. I think she’s just overprotective, but I don’t know. He’s had to sneak out a few times because she didn’t want him to see me, so maybe.”

“Oh, Stiles.” His dad shook his head at him. “That’s certainly not a great way to make an impression on your boyfriend’s mother.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Stiles quickly replied.

“But you’re obviously sleeping together?”

Stiles nodded.

“Well, I can see how someone more traditional might be uncomfortable with that, so maybe that’s the reason. But there was something else she said … how do I put this?” His Dad rubbed his face with his hand. “Stiles … you haven’t pressured that boy sexually in any way, have you?”

“What, _no_ ,” Stiles cried.

“I’m sorry, but I had to ask. I know you’re popular at school and somewhat of a well-known figure on the lacrosse team and—“

“Dad, I’ve never made Derek do anything he hasn’t wanted to do. I promise. I’m … I’m not like that and I never will be.” Stiles seriously felt like he was about to cry.

“I know, son. I’m sorry,” his dad said, pulling him into a hug.

“I really like him, Dad,” Stiles whispered into his father’s shoulder.

“Well I’d certainly hope you did considering what you were caught doing,” the Sheriff chuckled, hugging him tighter. “Why don’t you invite him round for dinner once everything cools down?”

“I can’t,” Stiles said.

“Of course you can. His parents won’t be angry forever. I’m sure he just needed to explain everything to them.”

“No, you don’t understand. He doesn’t like me like that.”

“He wouldn’t be sleeping with you if he didn’t like you, Stiles,” the Sheriff said, pulling back to look at his son.

“No he … he likes me in that way but not … I love him, Dad.” A tear spilled out of Stiles’ eye and he quickly wiped it away.

“ _Tell him_. You might be surprised at what his answer is.”

Stiles laughed darkly. “I already did. He doesn’t feel the same way.”

“Oh, Stiles,” his dad said, pulling him into a hug that was even tighter than the first. This time he couldn’t hold back the tears.

 

***

 

As soon as he walked into his first class the following Monday, Derek knew word had gotten out about him and Stiles. A couple of the guys from the lacrosse team came up and high-fived him at his desk before class. Another asked if Stiles was as good at catching in bed as he was at catching on the field. Derek shrunk in on himself and frowned down at his desk. No doubt Stiles was receiving similar comments. Derek hoped he wouldn’t take them too seriously. He was pretty sure Stiles was mad at him, since he hadn’t heard from him all weekend. Stiles usually texted him once a day, either to say hi if they hadn’t seen each other, or just a message about something he’d seen or done that day. Over the weekend it had been radio silence, and Derek was starting to get nervous. He assumed Stiles was just taking a step back because he knew people at school would have found out about them. He hoped it wasn’t because of what Stiles had said to him in the car, and that Stiles wanted to prove he hadn’t meant it, or something.

Derek’s phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see a text from Cora.

_Cora Hale, 9:04am: just a head’s up, everyone knows about you and lover boy_

_Cora Hale, 9:04am: I swear I didn’t say anything_

_Derek Hale, 9:04am: yeah, I know_

_Cora Hale, 9:05am: are you ok?_

_Derek Hale, 9:04am: I’m fine_

_Cora Hale, 9:05am: do you know how everyone found out?_

_Cora Hale, 9:05am: I mean, besides the obvious heart eyes you two always have_

_Derek Hale, 9:05am: there was a kid from school at the police station last night, so I’m guessing that’s where the leak came from_

_Cora Hale, 9:06am: wait HOLD UP_

_Cora Hale, 9:06am: POLICE STATION??_

_Derek Hale, 9:06am: guessing Mom didn’t tell you?_

_Cora Hale, 9:06am: no she fucking did not_

_Cora Hale, 9:06am: holy shit, this a conversation that needs to be had in person. Come to lunch prepared to answer all my questions_

“Hey, Hale, texting your boyfriend?” someone called out. The class dissolved into giggles.

“Can’t wait,” Derek muttered, tucking his phone away.

 

***

 

Stiles was definitely avoiding him. Derek didn’t see him in the halls all day, or in the cafeteria at his usual table when Derek had to fend Cora and Erica off during lunch. He was starting to think Stiles wasn’t even at school. He’d sent him a message at lunch asking if he was ok, and Stiles had sent back a short “yep”. No smiley face, no attempt to further the conversation. Something was definitely up. It was actually starting to annoy Derek. He knew he wasn’t some big shot sports star like Stiles, but some people would call him a catch. His sister did, if that counted. Was it really so bad for people to think they were together? Apparently to Stiles it was.

Derek was surprised it took until the end of the day for someone to insult him. As he was putting his books away after the final bell, one of the cheerleaders Derek had never spoken to in his life came up to him.

“You know Stiles is only with you because he feels sorry for you,” she said with a smirk.

Derek ignored her.

“He knew you’d spread your legs for him because of your pathetic, freaky little crush,” she pressed on.

“Shut the fuck up,” Derek hissed back. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Did you really think it was a secret? Everyone knew how you were about him, and everyone knew Stiles would take advantage of it eventually. Slut,” she said before turning and stalking down the hallway, her friends snickering around her.

Derek clenched his hand into a fist so hard his nails cut into his palm. He slammed his locker door shut and pulled out his phone, but there was still nothing from Stiles.

 

***

 

Stiles felt bad about not going to school, knowing Derek was probably copping some serious shit from everyone, but he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t go there and hear all the jokes and the shitty comments and then have to see Derek as well. Not after Friday. He’d felt like throwing up when Derek had sent him a message that morning. All he could see was Derek’s horrified face when Stiles said he loved him.

Just when he thought he couldn’t feel any worse, Scott showed up. At first, Scott was a welcome sight. Stiles felt like pure shit and some laughs with his best friend definitely wouldn’t go astray, but that wasn’t how it turned out.

“So you’re sleeping with Derek?” Scott asked, sitting in Stiles’ desk chair and staring straight at him.

“Yeah,” Stiles said.

“How long?”

“We started messing around after the charity dinner.”

“I can’t believe … I thought you were better than this, Stiles,” Scott said. He looked angry.

“What…” Stiles said, trailing off when he met Scott’s eyes.

“You _know_ how Derek feels about you, and this is what you do with that information? Sleep with him while keeping him at an arm’s length?”

“That’s not—“

“I told you not to hurt him, Stiles,” Scott said. “At the team dinner I warned you something like this would happen, and you ignored me. I saw Derek today, and he looked really hurt. I can’t believe you’d do this and then not even be there to stand up for him.”

“He doesn’t want anything from me, Scott,” Stiles cried.

Scott laughed darkly. “Yeah alright. You keep telling yourself that.” He stood up, grabbing his bag. “This is a really shitty thing you’re doing, Stiles.”

“I’m not doing anything,” Stiles yelled as Scott walked out of his room. “Fuck,” he yelled at the now empty room. He debated texting Derek, but instead rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.

 

***

 

Scott was the absolute last person Derek expected to see when he answered the doorbell after school that afternoon. He’d hoped it was Stiles, and had sprinted to the door to get there before his Mom and Cora.

“Uh, hey,” he said slowly when he saw who it was, craning his neck to look around. Maybe Scott had come with Stiles and he was hiding in the car, not wanting to get yelled at by Derek’s mom?

“Can I come in?” Scott asked.

“Sure.”

He led Scott up to his bedroom, ignoring the quizzical look Cora shot him from the lounge.

“I’m sorry to just show up like this,” Scott said once Derek’s door was firmly shut. “But I had to come and see you.”

“Ok,” Derek said slowly.

“I wanted to make sure you were ok … and to apologize to you.”

“Unless you were the person that told me I shouldn’t have ‘spread my legs’ for Stiles – I think that was the term she used – you don’t have anything to apologize for.”

“But I do,” Scott said, sitting down on Derek’s bed. “I warned Stiles not to take advantage of you but he didn’t listen.”

Derek opened his mouth to say something, but Scott put his hand up to stop him.

“You don’t have to defend him, I already went and spoke to him after school.”

“You did?” Derek asked. “He hasn’t really been replying to my messages so I thought…”

“Typical,” Scott sighed. “We all told him about your feelings before this all started, and I warned him _so many times_.”

“Wait, he knows I like him?” Derek asked.

“Yeah. That’s why I’m sorry. He took advantage of the situation and now he’s running and hiding from it. I’m really sorry, Derek. I should have done more to make sure he didn’t hurt you. I just thought he’d be a decent enough person to not do it intentionally.”

Derek’s chest started to constrict. If Stiles had known about his feelings from the get go then that changed the whole game. Suddenly Stiles’ easy acceptance of not telling anyone that they were messing around took on a whole new meaning. He hadn’t thought Stiles was taking advantage of him, but now it looked different. If even Scott – Stiles’ best friend since childhood – was telling him Stiles had fucked him over then maybe he was just wearing fucking rose tinted glasses. Had he been too caught up in finally having Stiles pay attention to him that he hadn’t seen what was right in front of him? He felt like the rug had been yanked out from under him.

“I should go. I really am sorry, Derek,” Scott said. He squeezed Derek’s shoulder before leaving the room. He heard him say something to Cora as he walked past her room, and she came bounding in immediately.

“Hey, it’s ok,” she said, wrapping her arms around him.

“It’s not,” Derek said into her shoulder. “He knew. The whole time he knew.”

“He probably thought he could at least get his dick wet out of it, the asshole,” Cora said. “I’m going to fucking kill Stiles. He knew how you felt and still slept with you for all that time? He’s been basically leading you on for years, then. I’m so sorry for pushing you to go out with him. I thought he’d changed, but obviously I was wrong.”

Derek curled into a ball in her arms and let the tears come.

 

***

 

“You’re going to have to come to school sometime,” Lydia said, twirling a lock of her hair around her finger.

Stiles just grunted and pulled the blanket over his head.

It was Tuesday after school and Stiles had convinced his dad to let him stay home again that day. Lydia was clearly not in favor of that plan, and had come to convince Stiles to come back the next day.

“Hiding from your problems never solves them,” she said.

“In this case I think it’s best,” Stiles replied, his voice muffled by the blanket.

“Oh come on, is it really so bad that people think you’re fucking Derek? The boy’s hot. If I wasn’t dating Jackson I’d have a crack at him, I’ll admit it. Surely years of those stupid fucking jokes have prepared you for this.”

“I don’t care about what people are saying. I don’t want to see Derek, or Scott, or anyone else.”

“Why not?” she asked, pulling the blanket off of him.

“Scott yelled at me for shit he doesn’t even understand, and I can’t see Derek yet. I just can’t.”

“I’ll ask again: _why not_?”

“Because I’ll throw up, or hyperventilate, or something,” Stiles cried. “I told him I loved him and you should’ve seen his face, Lyds. I never want to feel that way again.”

“Wait, hold up. You _what_?”

“Exactly what I just said. Don’t make me repeat it.”

“Is that actually what happened? You’re not omitting any info?” she asked.

“ _No_. I don’t give a shit what Scott or anyone else says, Derek doesn’t feel that way about me. Trust me, I learnt the hard way. Please don’t tell anyone.”

“Alright, this calls for a fucking huge bowl of ice cream,” Lydia declared, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

 

***

 

Lydia usually kept her promises, but she was pretty sure it was in Stiles’ best interests for her not to keep this one. After a week of Stiles and Derek not speaking to each other she decided to take matters into her own hands. Stiles had come back to school, but he’d clearly been miserable. He’d lashed out at Jackson after he made a comment about Derek during the last practice and got sent to do laps of the field to cool off. As for Derek, he’d started forgoing lacrosse practices for the first time Lydia had seen since becoming Stiles’ friend.

Jackson was what set her off about taking control of the situation. After Stiles had lashed out at him, he’d gone and found Derek and asked him to come back to practices since Stiles was bringing the whole team down. Derek’s sister had apparently yelled at him about the whole team being ‘in on’ something, and Jackson had fled with his tail between his legs. Stiles had then told him to drop it, because Derek was only interested in him physically and probably wouldn’t be coming back. A very confused Jackson had asked Lydia for help. That was what lead Lydia to walk into the lion’s den, and sit down at the lunch table with Cora that day.

“What could you possibly want?” Cora hissed when Lydia sat down.

“I wanted to clear something up,” Lydia said sweetly. “Because there seems to be some misinformation circulating about Derek and Stiles.”

“Well I’ll be happy to let you know that everything I’ve heard has been pretty accurate, so you can go scamper back to your asshole friends now,” Cora said with a fake smile.

“Listen here, sweetheart,” Lydia said, leaning in. “From what I’ve heard the only asshole here is your brother.”

“Then I don’t know where you’ve been getting your information from, but last I checked my brother wasn’t the one leading people on and taking their virginities whilst pretending to not know about their feelings. I think we’re done here.”

“We are _so_ not done,” Lydia said, slapping a palm down on the table. “If my friend’s done that then your brother’s the one who knows Stiles is in love with him but has been letting everyone think he’s been using him for sex, and has been ignoring him all week.”

“It’s funny how you have to start making shit up to try and make him not look as bad,” Cora sneered. “Stiles knew how Derek felt and he still did what he did. Also, he’s the one that’s been doing the ignoring, not Derek.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, because Derek knew how Stiles felt.”

“Nope,” Cora retorted.

“Well someone’s lying.”

“It isn’t me.”

“Well I’m not lying either.”

“Ok, I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you really believe what you’re saying—“

“Because what I’m saying is true,” Lydia cut Cora off. “Derek knew how Stiles felt. He’s been ignoring him since Stiles told him he loved him.”

“Well that never happened,” Cora snorted. “That’s not something Derek would have left out.”

“Well clearly he did.”

“If that’s true then why did Stiles’ own best friend come to our house to apologize to Derek for how Stiles treated him?”

“Because everyone’s an idiot and is making assumptions. Look, my boyfriend spoke to both you and Stiles yesterday and came away very confused. You told him the team was in on something. Going off of what people are saying, I’m going to assume you were talking about Stiles apparently ‘using’ Derek. Stiles told Jackson that it was Derek who was only interested in him physically. I think we all need to lay our information on the table here, because somewhere along the way something’s been misconstrued.”

The two sat down and traced Derek and Stiles’ interactions back to the lacrosse dinner, mapping out their relationship as they went. After much arguing they narrowed ground zero down to the charity dinner, where both Stiles and Derek agreed that they didn’t have any feelings for each other.

“So you’re telling me that Derek lied when he said that?” Lydia asked, tapping her pen against her lip.

“He said he didn’t want to scare Stiles off.”

“And what about when Stiles told him his feelings.”

“Derek didn’t mention that, but he was very clear that Stiles doesn’t have any feelings for him.”

“Something’s not right here,” Lydia said.

“Agreed,” Cora replied.

They agreed to talk to Stiles and Derek separately and have them both hash it out a few days later at Lydia’s party. The first thing Lydia did when she left Cora was track Stiles down.

“When did you tell Derek you had feelings for him?” she asked Stiles.

“Holy fuck, you scared the shit out of me,” he hissed, slapping at her arm.

“Answer the question.”

Stiles looked around quickly before leaning in closer. “We were … uh … _busy_ in the Jeep when I said it. Look, I really don’t want to talk about—“

“Stiles Stilinski, are you seriously telling me you told your somehow-still-not-boyfriend that you loved him _during sex_?”

“Uh … yes?”

“And you didn’t think this was important to mention when you told me in the first place?”

“Well it doesn’t change what happened.”

“It changes _everything_ ,” she cried. “You don’t take what someone says during sex _seriously_. People say some seriously weird shit sometimes, you just pretend you didn’t hear it.”

“Well it doesn’t change the fact that Derek doesn’t feel the same way.”

“ _Yes_ it _does_. Holy fuck, you’re smarter than this,” she sighed. “Let me spell it out for you: Derek did what normal people do and probably thought you weren’t serious. You then pulled away from him, it just happened to be at the same time that everyone found out that everybody’s favourite not-couple was fucking. Just so we’re clear: you don’t care if people know about you two?”

“No, I couldn’t give less of a shit about that. It was him that didn’t tell his friends in the first place, I was respecting what he wanted,” Stiles cried. “I don’t want to hide him, I want to _date_ him.”

Lydia burst into hysterical laughter. “You’re both fucking idiots, and I mean that in the nicest way. Now, I’m going to give you the opportunity to fix this. Derek’s sister is going to make sure he’s at my party on Saturday, and you’re going to be there too. The two of you are going to _talk_ and fix this shit. Don’t say anything to him before then, because I don’t know when Cora’s going to talk to him. Apparently the both of you need it fucking spelled out.”

She sauntered off, leaving Stiles standing there open mouthed.

 

***

 

“I thought I’d let you know in advance that you’re going to Lydia’s party tomorrow,” Cora said to Derek that Friday.

“Uh, how about _no_ ,” Derek replied with raised eyebrows. “What part of that sounds like it would be a good idea?”

“The part where you sit down and _talk_ to Stiles.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because everything’s turned to shit for no reason and I love you and want you to be happy.”

“And you think this will make me happy?”

“Do you still like Stiles?”

“You know I do.”

“Then I’m telling you, this is the best thing for you. Everyone’s made assumptions but trust me when I say that he misses you and is sitting around thinking that you’re the one who doesn’t have feelings for him.”

“And how do you figure that?”

“Because I had an incredibly interesting conversation with Lydia Martin the other day. You both just need to sit down and talk. I wouldn’t push you to do this if it wasn’t the best thing for you.”

“Ok,” Derek said after a moment. “But only because I trust you. And also because I really want to hear Stiles explain how _I’m_ the one who doesn’t have feelings for him.”

“Trust me, you won’t regret it,” she said.

 

***

 

Their mother was far harder to convince than Derek.

“Derek, last week I walked in on you crying in your sister’s arms over that boy, and now you expect me to give you permission to meet up with him at a party.”

“That’s the idea, yeah.”

“I thought you were done with him for good,” Talia cried. “Cora, could you please give me some insight as to what your brother is thinking.”

“Like we told you, there’s been a misunderstanding—“

“Unless it’s a misunderstanding that started back when Derek was in middle school, it’s not enough.”

“Mom, you can’t be mad at Stiles for not liking me back,” Derek said.

“And that’s no longer the point,” Cora followed up. “Because Stiles _does_ like him back.”

“Derek, think about how you’ve felt this past week,” Talia sighed. “He’s not a good person—”

“Don’t say that,” Derek cut her off. “You don’t know Stiles like I do.”

“I’ve seen and heard more than enough,” Talia scoffed.

“No, you _haven’t_. You haven’t seen the Stiles who stood up for me when people teased me for watching the lacrosse practices at the start of high school, or the Stiles that turned down being the captain of the lacrosse team because his best friend needed it to get a scholarship for college. You haven’t met the Stiles who worries every fucking day about his father, and makes sure he eats right, and you sure as hell haven’t seen the Stiles who held my hand at the movies, and keeps my favourite snacks at his house, and hugs me at the end of lacrosse games. Yes, he hurt me, but he didn’t mean to, and that doesn’t make him a bad person. I … I love him, Mom, and I think he might feel the same way, but I won’t know unless you let me go tonight.”

“He’s right,” Cora said. “I don’t want to tell you exactly how this has all gone tits up because I want Derek to hear it from Stiles, but just know that Derek’s right, and Stiles has been having just as hard a time since everything went to shit.”

“Are you sure this is what you want?” their mother asked Derek, who nodded. “Then go. But just know we’ll all be here for you if this doesn’t work out.”

“It will,” Cora said with confidence.

 

***

 

The party looked exactly the same from the outside as the last one Derek had been to. Last time he’d been full of nerves, wanting everything to work out with Stiles and being hopeful that something more would come of it. Now, months later, he was in the same boat.

He and Cora walked through the front door and were immediately surrounded by pumping bass and flashing lights bouncing off the walls. Lydia was upon them quickly, directing Derek upstairs.

“Third door on the left,” she said. “Stiles is already there.”

“Good luck,” Cora smiled at him, squeezing his hand.

Derek took a deep breath and headed towards the stairs, waving at a few people who greeted him as he passed. His stomach was in knots as he walked to stand in front of the door, but he pushed through the feeling and opened it. The door lead to what looked like Lydia’s bedroom, if the pink walls and the pictures hanging above the bed were any indication. Derek stepped inside and shut the door behind him, looking around for Stiles.

“Oh thank god, I thought you weren’t coming,” Stiles said, stepping into the room from what looked to be Lydia’s bathroom.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Derek replied. Stiles looked much better than he had the week before. After they’d started not talking Stiles had begun to look like shit, if Derek was honest. He’d developed dark bags under his eyes and had looked really tired but jittery, from what Derek had seen from a distance. Now he looked like _Stiles_ again, particularly with the smile he was directing at Derek.

“Look,” Stiles started, walking towards Derek. “I’m really sorry, but not what you probably think I’m sorry for. I’m not sure how much Cora told you—“

“She told me enough,” Derek cut in. “She said she wanted me to hear it from you, but she wouldn’t have told me to come here if you were just going to tell me that we were back to square one. But what do you think I think you should be sorry for?”

“I never used you,” Stiles said. “Well, I guess the nature of what we decided to do was using each other, but I didn’t pretend to not know you had feelings for me. You told me you didn’t, so I listened to you rather than everyone else who was telling me otherwise. Scott told you he warned me about your feelings – and he did – but I listened to you instead. Maybe if I didn’t we wouldn’t have ended up where we were.”

“You said at that dinner that you didn’t have feelings for me either. Did you lie?” Derek asked.

“No,” Stiles answered. “Not then, but after that I started to really like you. It was impossible to spend that much time with you and not fall in love with you.”

“I thought you weren’t serious when you said it, and then you started backtracking…”

“You should have seen your face, Derek,” Stiles said softly. “You looked like it was the worst news you’d ever heard, and I didn’t know what else to do.”

“I wanted you to mean it,” Derek said quietly. “I wanted so badly for you to mean it.”

“I did mean it. I still mean it.” Stiles was standing right in front of him and Derek reached out to pull him closer. Stiles went easily, wrapping his arms around Derek. Derek wasn’t sure who initiated the kiss, but they both met in the middle. It made his heart feel like it was bursting out of his chest.

“We’re so stupid,” Stiles laughed, pressing his face into Derek’s neck.

“Next time you say it my dick better not be inside you,” Derek replied, joining in on Stiles’ laughter.

“So just to be clear, we can stop pretending not to date when we’re totally dating then.”

“Fuck yes.”

Stiles let out a whoop and dragged Derek back in for another kiss, smiling into it. Derek kissed him back just as hard, twining their fingers together.

 

***

 

Stiles had never been more nervous in his life. He twirled his lacrosse stick in his hands and glanced up at the stands, seeking Derek out. He no longer had to look up at the back corner where Derek used to hide away, trying not to draw attention. Now Derek sat front and center with Lydia, cheering Stiles on. Derek had given him a pep talk before the game that Stiles was replaying over and over in his head, trying to get in the zone. Somewhere in the crowd there was a college scout, and he needed to bring his A-game. This was the game he and Derek had been training for all season, and he knew he was ready because Derek told him he was. Derek believed in him, and that was all Stiles really needed to know.

He locked eyes with Derek who gave him a thumbs up and blew him a kiss. The buzzer sounded and Stiles snapped back to attention, running straight into the action. Over the last few weeks he and Derek had developed the perfect mix of playing for the benefit of the team, while still showcasing Stiles’ abilities as a single player. They’d run through everything for hours the night before, but Stiles couldn’t let his thoughts wander there or he’d get distracted by the memory of the noises Derek made as Stiles rimmed him in the Jeep afterwards.

The game flashed by quickly, with Stiles shooting glances at Derek whenever he could afford to take his eyes away from the ball. Whenever he glanced over Derek would always be watching him and would shoot him a wide smile. Before Stiles knew it they were down to the last few minutes of play. He made sure to give Scott plenty of time with the ball, wanting him to look good for the scout as well. Stiles and Scott played expertly off each other, knowing each move the other was going to make and always being in the perfect position to help the other out. Stiles felt like he was in a dream when he scored right as the buzzer sounded, the ball soaring into the goal in just enough time to count towards the overall tally. Scott’s loud cheering filled his ears, joined by those from the crowd as well as the rest of the team. They all ran to the center of the field and jumped around together, high-fiving and slapping each other on the back. Stiles whirled around looking for Derek, who was making his way across the field towards him, along with other members of the crowd. Stiles sprinted towards him, jumping into his arms and dragging Derek into a kiss. Derek laughed into it, swinging Stiles around in a circle.

“Dare I say it, but that might be the best game you’ve ever played,” Derek said, beaming at Stiles.

“Seriously?” Stiles cried. “You’re not just saying that?”

“You were fantastic. No way you’re not getting that scholarship. Berkeley won’t know what hit them.”

“All thanks to you,” Stiles said. He fisted his hands in Derek’s shirt and pulled him back in, pressing their lips together. “I love you so much,” he whispered into Derek’s ear. Derek’s huge smile was the best response he could have asked for.

 

***

 

_Three years later_

“Why are you looking at that shit again?” Stiles asked. He turned back to the computer, clicking through photos of the last lacrosse game, checking his form. “Come over here and help me pick which photo to upload to Facebook.”

“Fuck off,” Derek scoffed from the couch. He was lounging around in just his boxers, flipping through Stiles’ yearbook from their senior year of high school. “I’m taking a trip down memory lane. And you can post any of them, they’re all good.”

“How do you know?” Stiles said indignantly.

“Because I took them, you dick,” Derek laughed, tossing a throw pillow at Stiles’ head. “And you know I’ll say you look good in any of them, I’m more than a little biased.”

“I still want your opinion.” Stiles shot a fake scowl Derek’s way, who laughed and walked over to Stiles.

“That one,” he said, pointing to a photo in the second row. “It’s a good action shot of you.”

“Done,” Stiles said, copying the photo to his desktop. “What are you looking at, anyway?”

“Our picture for ‘best couple’.”

“You sentimental bastard,” Stiles laughed, snatching the yearbook from Derek. “My hair looks so shit in that photo.”

“That’s because it was taken like five minutes after I fucked you in the bathroom at prom.”

“Best night of my life,” Stiles said, kissing Derek’s bare shoulder. “Also you should get dressed, we need to leave in a few.”

“Roger that,” Derek replied, tossing the yearbook onto the coffee table. Stiles watched him walk into the bedroom with a smile on his face. Years later Derek’s half naked body still got him hot under the collar.

He waited until the shower turned on and the sound of Derek humming filtered in from the bathroom. He tiptoed into their bedroom, and knelt in front of the bedside table on his side of the bed. He rummaged around in the back, past all the crap he tossed in there as a deterrent to keep Derek out, and pulled out the little box he’d had hidden in there for the past eight months. He’d bought it when he and Derek had gone to Hawaii over one of their college breaks, spending a week lounging around in the sun during the day and fucking slowly in their hotel room at night. It had been one of the best weeks of his life, and he’d bought the ring when Derek had gone in search of a bathroom at the mall they were walking around in. As soon as Stiles had seen it he’d known it was the one he wanted to propose to Derek with, even if right then and there wasn’t the time he’d be doing it. He’d sat tight for months, waiting until it was the perfect time, and now he was sure it was.

The shower turned off and Stiles quickly slipped the box into his pocket, standing up just in time. Derek walked over to the wardrobe wearing just a towel, rummaging around for something to wear.

“I’m going to have to keep you here if you don’t put something on fast,” Stiles teased, rubbing Derek’s back.

“You wouldn’t, you love Bella’s,” Derek replied, swatting at him with his hand.

“No, _you_ love Bella’s,” Stiles replied.

“And that’s exactly why you pick it,” Derek said fondly.

Stiles smiled at him, fiddling with the box in his pocket. Unlike three years ago, he wasn’t nervous about telling Derek how he felt this time. There was nothing to be nervous about; he knew exactly what Derek would say.


End file.
